MacRumors

Photoshop TouchAdobe has announced that it will remove Photoshop Touch for iPhone and iPad from the App Store and other platforms on May 28. The software company says it will be focusing its mobile efforts on other apps in the Creative Cloud suite, including Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Sketch, Adobe Comp CC, Adobe Shape CC, Adobe Brush CC and Adobe Color CC. In total, the software maker has over 50 apps on the App Store.


Adobe also announced that it is working on a new retouching solution for mobile devices called Project Rigel that is expected to be available in late 2015. Adobe product manager Bryan O'Neil Hughes shared a teaser video of the software through an iPad simulator today, demonstrating retouching features and filter effects such as warping, puckering and bloating, reconstructing, recoloring, brightness and contrast.

We've had previous rumors suggesting Apple is working on split-screen multitasking capabilities for the iPad, and hints of the feature are buried within iOS 8, but thus far multitasking has not made its way into the hands of customers. In a post covering information on future iPad upgrades, 9to5Mac confirms split-screen multitasking is still in the works and on schedule to be released as part of iOS 9.

Split-screen multitasking will display two apps side-by-side on the iPad's screen or two views of the same app, allowing users to see multiple documents in Pages at the same time, for example. As was first discovered in code buried within iOS 8, apps will be able to be arranged in multiple views, covering 1/2, 1/3, and 2/3 of the screen in the latest iteration.

Concept for split-screen multitasking (not based on specific rumors)

9to5Mac warns that though the split-screen multitasking feature is slated for inclusion in iOS 9, it could be removed before the update's debut at the Worldwide Developers Conference if it is not ready in time as it was originally developed for the upcoming "iPad Pro." 9to5Mac previously said the multi-tasking feature would be included in iOS 8.

Apple is also said to be working on a highly anticipated feature that customers have requested for years -- multi-user login support. This will allow multiple users to have unique profiles on a single iPad, with individual access to apps and documents. Multi-user support will not be ready when iOS 9 launches in the fall, but it could be released later in 2015 alongside the iPad Pro or in 2016.

Both split-screen multitasking and multi-user login support are features that will be added to Apple's rumored larger-screened 12-inch iPad Pro, which may also include features like a USB-C port, a stylus, and a pressure-sensitive Force Touch display. The tablet, internally numbered "J98" and "J99" to represent Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models, will launch in late 2015, according to the latest rumors. Apple is said to be working to finish software and source hardware components for the device.

Sources have confirmed that Apple is testing jumbo-sized iPads internally codenamed "J98″ and "J99," which are apparently larger versions of the Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad Air 2, save for additional speaker holes.

Given the large size of the iPad Pro's display, some apps may be redesigned to accommodate the larger screen real estate available on the 12-inch tablet, with Apple rumored to be working on new designs for Siri and Notification Center. Features tailored to the iPad Pro could work in the same way as features tailored to the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a unique layout in landscape mode to account for a larger display size.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Apple is planning to remodel its flagship Regent Street retail store in United Kingdom per a recent application filed with the City of Westminster in England. The company has contracted award-winning architecture firm Foster and Partners to design the layout of the new store and commissioned Donald Insall Associates to conduct a historic building report that justifies the renovations in the iconic shopping area.

Regent Street Apple Store

A view of the current Apple Store facade facing Regent Street (Foster and Partners)

The proposed renovation will consist of the partial removal of the existing mezzanine floor at the front of the store, the relocation of three columns to create a more spacious feel, the removal of the existing main glass stairs leading up to the mezzanine level and replacement with two new side staircases, and re-configuration of the back of house at the basement level with improved staff facilities.

"The proposal looks to enhance the ground floor sales area by removing the front part of the mezzanine and creating a double height entrance," reads Foster and Partners' project rationale. "This partial removal of the mezzanine also enhances the transparency from the street and floods the store with natural light. The interior front facade, with its full height arches, clad in natural Portland stone, can now be appreciated in its full extend. Moreover the visual connection between the two levels of retail is dramatically improved. This is key to the customer journey and the efficient use of the overall retail area."

Foster and Partners will also be removing the four Apple logos found on the store's facade in order to allow more natural light inside and preserve the historic look of the building. The store's overall square footage will be reduced by 4,400 square feet, or around 25% of the current size, and the interior will consist of terrazzo floor, GFRC cladding on the walls and oak timber for all fittings and fixtures.

Regent Street Apple Store Floor Plan

Floor plan for remodeled Regent Street store interior (Foster and Partners)

Apple plans to open a temporary store at 235 Regent Street to continue to serve customers during the remodeling process. The temporary location will be located at the basement level of the same building as the permanent store for a maximum of three years, accessible by a carefully designed lobby at ground level with a minimal steel staircase and a fully accessible lift.

Apple's flagship Regent Street retail store opened in November 2004 and attracts over 4 million visitors per year. The iconic store was last expanded and remodeled in mid-2006 to become the largest Apple Store location at the time. Apple has contracted Foster and Partners for several other projects in recent months, including the design of Campus 2 and remodeling of Apple's flagship San Francisco store.

ios_8_maps_transitApple is planning to add a new Transit view to Maps in iOS 9 that features bus, subway, and train routing and directions, according to 9to5Mac. The much-rumored Apple Maps feature would bring native transit routing back to the iPhone for the first time since Apple ditched Google as the default mapping provider on iOS. The report also claims that Apple has made advancements on its indoor mapping project.

"Sources said last year that the transit functionality for Maps includes larger icons for users to more quickly spot airports, subway stations, and train stations within the Maps app. In addition to the main functionality, there is also a trip planning feature for transit, and a new Transit view alongside the existing Standard, Hybrid, and Satellite/Flyover views."

Transit features in Apple Maps were originally expected to launch alongside iOS 8 last year, but were delayed due to personnel issues and data inconsistencies within Apple. The company has reportedly "refined the data, added new cities, and developed a new push notifications system" since that time, however, and the feature is now ready to be unveiled at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Apple has been actively expanding its in-house routing team over the past few years through multiple job openings. In late April, for example, the company put out a job listing for a "Maps Software Engineer" part of the Routing team, as reflected by at least one Apple employee's LinkedIn profile. "As a member of the Routing team, you will work on one of the most anticipated features of Apple Maps," the job description reads.

Transit Routing Engineer
Apple has also been making progress on its indoor mapping project, which will enable iOS users to navigate major buildings, offices and landmarks. The company has been using autonomous robots with iBeacon sensors to collect indoor mapping data, starting at its offices in Cupertino, although the feature may not go live this year. The indoor mapping project is in conjunction with Apple's van-based street mapping data collection.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Apple Stores in the United States, United Kingdom and possibly other launch countries began stocking standalone Apple Watch bands for purchase as confirmed by MacRumors and multiple users on social media. The photo below shared by Twitter user Apple Radar shows an Apple Store in Miami stocking the Sport Band in multiple colors, and he says that the Classic Buckle is also available.

Apple Bands
Apple is selling individual Sport Bands for $49, while the Classic Buckle, Milanese Loop and Leather Loop retail for $149 each. The Modern Buckle is costlier at $249 and the Link Bracelet is the most expensive Apple Watch strap available at $449. The prices listed are based on the United States and will vary in international countries based on local currencies and exchange rates.

Apple Watch bands can also be ordered online through the Apple Online Store.

(Thanks, Alireza!)

Popular smartwatch maker Pebble appears to be in some financial trouble, according to a few sources "close to the company," as reported by TechCrunch. The company is having trouble maintaining its growth, turning to a bank in its home base of Silicon Valley for not only a $5 million loan but a $5 million line of credit. According to those same sources, banks in the Valley have been turning down Pebble's financial support requests repeatedly.

The smartwatch company's rocky monetary troubles come a few weeks after a well-publicized Kickstarter campaign, which reached its $500,000 goal in under 20 minutes of going live. The project's final funding amount - which received numerous stretch goals along the way - saw 78,471 backers pledge $20,338,986 for the new slimmer design and color display smartwatch.

Pebble Time
The company actually received around $18 million from the Kickstarter campaign, after fees, and currently staffs about 150 people with more being hired in new positions. Despite all of this success, and an infusion of forward momentum thanks directly to Apple's Apple Watch-focused "Spring Forward" event, the logistics of running the company have forced CEO Eric Migicovsky and fellow company heads to seek venture capitalist funding "in order to stay afloat."

TechCrunch's source also noted that numerous employees were unhappy with the company's direction "as it turns to face competitors from Apple, Android, and outside." This is perhaps alluding to the company's nonchalant attitude towards poking fun at Apple on its own website and Migicovsky's somewhat apathetic responses to Apple's impending entrance into the smartwatch market.

With Pebble facing such troubles just a few weeks after the Apple Watch launch, two events that may yet still be unrelated, it'll be interesting to see how Apple's competitors in the smartwatch market maneuver themselves to stay successful in an ever-growing and crowded field. Still, some employees are happy with Pebble and see a good future for the still-fairly-young company. “We’re a young company. The outlook for Pebble is very positive,” said a current employee who preferred to remain anonymous when speaking with TechCrunch. “It’s been a remarkable journey thus far.”

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

A collection of iPhones are modeled alongside the brand new Apple-branded Lightning Dock, revealed Tuesday, on the dock's official store page. An iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and 5s are shown placed on the new dock's lightning charger port, but a mysterious pink-and-black outlier, which appears to be an iPhone 5c at first glance, upon closer inspection can be seen including a Touch ID sensor instead of a traditional home button.

iphone 5c or 5c
Rumors of a cheaper, 4-inch "iPhone 6c" model of the next generation of iPhones began late last year, backed by a few sources out of the Asian supply chain who manufacture the smartphones. More recently, however, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed these rumors as false, noting that Apple will stick with 4.7- and 5.5-inch models this year.

While the iPhone on Apple's website in question today could in fact be the accidental unveiling of a new iPhone 6c, it's highly unlikely the company made such a slip-up in revealing an entirely new iPhone. It's more likely a curiously egregious Photoshopping error having to do with one of Apple's website designers, and will no doubt be taken down in due time.

Update 10:05 AM Pacific: Apple has removed Touch ID from the iPhone 5c render as expected.

Related Forum: iPhone

iphone6_6plus_newKGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a respectable track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming product plans, has issued a research note to clients that claims Apple will announce its next iPhones in August ahead of a September launch.

Apple has never unveiled an iPhone in August, having introduced early iPhone models at or around WWDC in June, the iPhone 4s in October 2011 and all subsequent iPhone models in September. It is worth noting that Kuo has sometimes been off with his launch timing predictions in the past.

The research note, a copy of which was first obtained by The China Post, also claims that Foxconn is expected to secure between 60% to 70% of orders to assemble the new iPhones. Kuo notes that Foxconn has a higher yield rate for iPhones, helping it secure the majority of orders, and adds that the Taiwanese manufacturing company will also serve as the sole assembler of the much-rumored 12.9-inch iPad.

Kuo previously predicted that the main selling point of the next iPhones will be Force Touch, the pressure-sensitive display technology built into Apple Watch and new MacBook trackpads. His other predicted features for the next iPhones, many of which have already been rumored, include an A9 processor with 2GB of RAM, improved 12-megapixel camera, a new Rose Gold color option, improved Touch ID recognition, gesture control support, a new microphone added near the speaker and more.

Related Forum: iPhone

Apple has updated its system status page to reflect ongoing issues with eleven iCloud-related services: Back to My Mac, Documents in the Cloud, iCloud Account & Sign In, iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Mail, iMovie Theater, iWork for iCloud Beta, Photos and Find My iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac. The services have been affected since around 12 AM Pacific.

iCloud System Status May

Multiple users have turned to Twitter and the MacRumors discussion forums to confirm the issues, which range from services running slow for some users to being down entirely for others. The issues follow a prolonged iTunes and App Store outage in early March and lengthy iTunes Connect and TestFlight downtime for developers earlier this month.

Update 7:05 AM Pacific: Apple's services are now restored per its system status page.

In its retail stores, Apple uses special Apple Watch display units to allow customers to test the Apple Watch ahead of making a purchase. The units, which have been available in stores since try-on appointments began on April 10, combine a functional Apple Watch (secured to prevent theft) with an iPad mini that gives details on various aspects of the device.

Apple Watch Demo
Most of us probably haven't stopped to wonder about how these units work, but new Brazilian regulatory documents and images shared by Blog do iPhone [Google Translate] give us a fascinating inside look at how Apple engineered the display units.

According to BlogdoiPhone, Apple Watches inside the display cases have special bands that incorporate a Lightning cable, which plug into the case to connect to the iPad. When an app is opened on the Apple Watch, this connection relays data to the iPad on what's being viewed, letting the screen display additional information about each feature.

applewatchlightningband
The specialized Lightning port band connects to the hidden 6-pin diagnostic port on the Apple Watch, using it to establish a connection between the watch and the case. It is not clear if the diagnostic port connection also allows the Apple Watch to charge, either through the iPad or through a battery built into the unit, but such a function would explain how the Apple Watches manage to stay powered through a full day of continual usage by customers.

applewatchdisplayunitunderneath
One side of the unit also includes a USB-Type C port or a Lightning port, which we have previously heard is used to charge the entire unit on a nightly basis, so it's possible there's a built-in battery that powers both the iPad display and the Apple Watch during the day.

displayunitusb
It is not known if the Apple Watches used in the display units are identical to retail Apple Watches aside from the bands or if they are custom built with extra functionality, but there has been speculation that the Apple Watch can charge through the diagnostic port. Specifically, the engineers behind the Reserve Strap accessory in the works for the Apple Watch have said they have confirmed the port can be used for charging.

Apple recently introduced band design guidelines for third-party accessory manufacturers, and while the guidelines say bands must not integrate magnetic chargers, there's no mention of the diagnostic port, leaving its full capabilities largely a mystery. On watches delivered to consumers, the 6-pin diagnostic port is hidden behind a cover that resembles the SIM slot on an iPhone 6.

The Brazilian Agency of Telecommunications (or Anatel), where the documents and images originated, has approved the Apple Watch and the in-store display units, suggesting Apple is gearing up to begin selling the Apple Watch in additional countries in the near future.

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

iTunes-RadioApple's Beats Music and iTunes Radio streaming services are available in a limited number of countries, but Apple is working on launching its upcoming music service in a number of countries around the world. Previous rumors have suggested Apple's upcoming music service will launch in multiple countries when it debuts in June, and a new report from Billboard confirms that Apple is seeking to establish deals in Russia.

According to Russian newspapers, leading Russian record labels have hinted at the negotiations and have suggested that Russia will be among the first countries where the new music service will launch. Apple is said to be working on deals with local labels that would expand its digital rights to streaming services. Currently, Russian iTunes users have access to music, movies, apps, and books through iTunes, as well as iTunes Match.

Beats Music is only available in the United States, while iTunes Radio is available in Australia and the United States. When iTunes Radio launched in 2013, Apple promised to bring it to additional countries, with iTunes chief Eddy Cue saying a worldwide launch for iTunes Radio was a "top priority" and service was planned for "more than 100 countries."

It is not clear why Apple's iTunes Radio expansion plans fell through, but the intricacies of establishing contracts in many countries around the world likely played a part, as did iTunes Radio's lukewarm reception.

iTunes Radio is set to receive a major revamp alongside Beats Music, and while today's report doesn't state whether or not the Russian negotiations cover content for both streaming services, previous rumors have suggested that the new version of iTunes Radio, like the new streaming music service, will launch in multiple countries around the world.

The new version of iTunes Radio may feature improved curation and exclusive radio shows hosted by notable DJs. Apple hired BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe earlier this year, along with a handful of other radio content producers. Exact details on Apple's new iTunes Radio service are not known, but Apple may attempt to make the service more palatable to users through better tailoring towards regional markets.

As for the upcoming streaming music service, it's rumored to be similar to the existing Beats Music service, with a focus on curated content and artist exclusives. While iTunes Radio will remain free, the new Beats-based streaming service will reportedly cost $9.99 per month.

Both the revamped iTunes Radio and the new streaming music service may debut in June, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and both will be integrated into Apple's redesigned music app, introduced with iOS 8.4.

HomeKit-iconApple is planning a new "Home" app that would enable users to wirelessly discover, securely manage and control HomeKit-based accessories using an iOS device, according to 9to5Mac. The report also reiterates that the Apple TV would serve as a hub for all HomeKit connected devices.

The report claims that Home could be introduced alongside iOS 9 at Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco next month, although the app may not be finalized in time and could remain limited to internal usage by employees only.

HomeKit was announced at WWDC last year as a software framework for communicating with and controlling connected devices in the home, but the home automation platform has experienced delays since then and has yet to officially launch. Fortune reported last week that HomeKit was pushed back until August or September, but Apple has since confirmed that accessory announcements will begin in June.

The rumored Home app would be the front-end platform for HomeKit, akin to the Health app and HealthKit on iOS 8, and reportedly has "fairly basic" functionality centered upon virtual rooms, the Apple TV and other features:

  • Wirelessly discovering and setting up compatible HomeKit devices

  • Creating a virtual representation of rooms in the home to easily organize and connect HomeKit devices

  • Utilizing the Apple TV as a hub connecting all of the HomeKit devices

  • Offering a series of screens to help users find new HomeKit devices and apps
  • If the Home app is not released, the report claims that Apple may elect for customers to control their HomeKit connected devices using Siri and accompanying App Store apps from accessory makers and developers. HomeKit partners confirmed to date, among others, include Belkin, Elgato, Schlage, iDevices and GE.

    Related Forum: iOS 9

    Three weeks ahead of the rumored debut of Apple's new streaming music service, Spotify has announced some feature additions to its own streaming service, with a major focus on curated content and original tracks, plus an expansion into entertainment with video and news clips.

    Spotify is introducing a new "Now" start page that offers mood-based music playlists to users, much like Beats Music's "The Sentence," which provides users with curated music options to fit different moods and scenarios. Spotify's "Now" music feature will include curated song selections and its recommendations adapt over time to fit an individual user's tastes.

    Another new feature, Spotify Running, focuses on original music. It combines "running compositions written by the world's foremost DJs and composers" with song recommendations based on user listening history and multiple-genre playlists. It matches tempo when running and will be integrated into the Nike+ and Runkeeper apps.

    Other original (and exclusive) content will include radio shows presented by various artists like Icona Pop and Jungle, and "Dance Move of the Day" from Amy Poehler's Smart Girls brand.


    The biggest addition to Spotify comes in the form of video and news clips, letting users watch videos, listen to podcasts, and get news updates. This entertainment content will come from ABC, BBC, Comedy Central, Condé Nast, ESPN, Fusion, Maker Studios, NBC, TED, and Vice Media.

    Spotify's push for more original content and its renewed focus on curated content mirrors some of what Apple is rumored to be doing with its upcoming Beats Music revamp. Beats Music is well-known for its human-curated content, which Apple will keep in the new service, and Apple may be introducing its own radio shows as well, possibly in a simultaneous iTunes Radio revamp.

    Apple is also rumored to be pushing for exclusive content from artists for its new music service, to set it apart from competing services. Some of this may come in the form of artist social networking pages built into the new music service, which will allow artists to share clips, videos, concert updates, and more.

    Spotify's new "Now" experience will begin rolling out to iPhone users today in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Sweden. Spotify Running is also rolling out to iPhone users globally as of today.

    Tag: Spotify

    Though iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 are set to debut in three weeks at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, we've heard little detail on the content Apple might include in the new operating system updates. Neither operating system is expected to get a major visual overhaul, but there may be one significant design change for both iOS and OS X -- a new system font.

    Apple has plans to use the new San Francisco font that was introduced with the Apple Watch to replace the Helvetica Neue font used in iOS 7/iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The font will be used for menu items, app names, and more, throughout the operating systems.

    sanfranciscomockup

    Ever since switching to particularly thin weights of Helvetica Neue in iOS 7, Apple has been chastised for using a font that emphasizes clean lines over readability, and San Francisco is intended to solve this. According to the sources familiar with the decision to move to the San Francisco type face on iOS and OS X, Apple higher-ups also believe that the new look will serve to refresh its familiar operating systems, helping iOS and OS X to avoid becoming stale. However, some Apple engineers have told us that they are not fans of the new font, which may look particularly rough on non-Retina screens.

    A condensed sans-serif that's not unlike Helvetica, San Francisco is the first new font Apple has designed in-house in many years. In the 80s and 90s, Apple used several fonts that were created in-house, but the company largely ceased making its own fonts in the early 1990s. Apple's early fonts were also named after major cities, so San Francisco pays homage to those first fonts.

    Chicago, New York, Geneva, Monaco, and Cairo are all fonts that were designed by early Apple graphic artist Susan Kare. Kare even designed her own font called San Francisco in 1984, but that now-obsolete typeface looked quite different than the San Francisco Apple introduced in 2014.

    San Francisco was created specifically for small displays like the Apple Watch, with extra spacing between each letter to increase legibility on the wrist. Since its debut, there has been speculation that it could be brought to iPhones and Macs in the future, due to its clean look on larger Retina displays in addition to the small display of the Apple Watch. That idea was further reinforced with the introduction of the Retina MacBook, which uses the San Francisco font for the lettering on the keyboard.

    We may get our first official glimpse of San Francisco as a system-wide iOS and OS X font on June 8, when Apple is expected to show off iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 for the first time. Not much else is known about the two operating systems, but Apple may be opting to focus more on internal upgrades, improvements, and bug fixes over external changes to further polish features introduced with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.

    Related Forums: iOS 9, OS X El Capitan

    Apple's history of iPhone docks is rather hit-or-miss, with the company's recent designs generally tailored tightly to the profiles of the iPhones they were designed for, preventing the use of cases on the iPhones and making the docks incompatible with later iPhone designs.

    That changes with the new iPhone Lightning Dock, introduced yesterday a full eight months after the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The new dock forgoes a form-fitting iPhone-shaped depression in favor of a simple Lightning connector embedded in a small, slightly pliable nub to cushion the device as it rests on the connector.

    lightning_dock_iphone

    iPhone 6 Plus with Apple Leather Case on iPhone Lightning Dock

    The design has some advantages: it offers a clean and simple look and it'll fit any iOS device with a Lightning port, including many of those with cases. The lack of a recessed docking area also keeps the iPhone's Touch ID home button easily accessible while the device is docked.

    There are definitely some downsides, however, with the most obvious being stability. With the Lightning connector being the sole means of support for the iPhone, the device does tend to rock side to side if bumped. And while the Lightning connector is very firmly embedded in the base of the dock and does not feel in danger of being damaged, users may have concerns over potential damage to their iPhone's Lightning port if the device should happen to be bumped strongly while mounted on the dock.

    ➜ Click here to read more...

    Related Forum: iPhone

    Apple WatchKGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a note to investors today that claims Apple Watch demand may be slowing down, resulting in shipment forecasts being revised down by 20% to 30% to 5-6 million units in the third quarter.

    Kuo expects total Apple Watch shipments to fall within the 15 million range for the 2015 fiscal year, lower than the consensus of 20-30 million units, but remains upbeat about the Apple Watch and long-term wearable trends.

    KGI Securities conducted a survey that reveals most Apple Watch orders are scheduled to ship in June, and concludes that 2Q15 production output is likely sufficient for the orders placed so far. Kuo also notes that over 80% of orders are for larger 42mm models, implying a male-dominated customer mix based on the assumption that 42mm and 38mm watches are mainly purchased by men and women respectively.

    "We have learned that 42mm Apple Watch accounts for 60-70% of production. However, the shipping times of 38mm models are generally earlier than those of 42mm. We believe this is because demand for 38mm watches is significantly below that of 42mm ones. We estimate that 42mm models account for over 80% of sales. Assuming that 42mm and 38mm watches are mainly purchased by men and women respectively, the Apple Watch has attracted mostly men."

    Kuo concludes that the Apple Watch, like the original iPhone, has potential albeit several areas that could be improved. In particular, he says the Apple Watch has a lack of killer apps, not a very useful Digital Crown, insufficient battery life, room for form factor improvement, sometimes sluggish processing and response times and iPhone dependance for most settings and internet access.

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

    SwiftKey is one of the more popular third-party keyboard choices on iOS, due to its autocorrect and word prediction capabilities that are able to adapt to an individual's usage style over time. Since its debut last September, SwiftKey has been updated several times with features like predictive emoji and typing stats, and as of today, it's getting another major update that will allow for deeper customization: a theme store.

    The new SwiftKey theme store allows users to purchase new themes to personalize the look of their keyboards with unique color schemes. There are 12 new themes available for purchase, available in a range of different colors and styles.

    swiftkeythemes
    Organized into categories, there are five new Nickel themes, six Minimal themes, and one animated theme -- Shooting Stars. Colors range from black and white to pink, blue, and orange. In combination with the three free existing themes SwiftKey offers, there are now a total of 15 themes available. Themes range from $0.99 for basic themes to $1.99 for the animated Shooting Stars theme.

    Shooting Stars, which features a beautiful night sky, changes as you move your phone, giving the theme a more realistic and dimensional look and feel by making use of parallax. Parallax is just a fancy word for when an object, or objects, seem to be in a different positions depending on where you're viewing them from.

    For $1.99, you can give your keyboard a twinkling background with stars that are dynamically generated each time the keyboard loads. If you look closely you may even see some shooting stars fly across the keyboard...

    Today's update also includes performance and stability improvements, along with a fix that cuts down on instances when SwiftKey is unintentionally replaced by the default iOS keyboard. SwiftKey recommends that existing users should restart their iPhones or iPads after installing the update to see the performance improvements.

    SwiftKey can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

    Update: SwiftKey tells MacRumors it is having some issues with store purchase validation on iOS at the moment, but the team is working on the problem. Users will receive any themes they've purchased once the issue has been resolved.

    Update 11:45 AM: A new 1.3.2 version of SwiftKey has been released, fixing the issue with purchase validation. Users having issues with purchased themes should update to the latest version and reselect the purchased theme in the store. They will not need to go through the purchase process again.

    News alert app Breaking [Direct Link], which feeds topical news stories via a widget into the Today portion of the Notification Center, has faced a bit of blowback from Apple due to the mention of the term "Android" within a screenshot on the app's store page (via iPhoneHacks).

    The app was denied its newest update, version 1.3, due to the Android mishap, which is only mentioned within the screenshots for the app and not anywhere in its actual description. As a few fellow app developers voiced on Twitter, the screenshot in question doesn't overtly promote the rival's brand, either.
    breaking app

    A few similar stories have emerged so far this year, including a copyright issue Apple had with GIF curating app GIF Finder and creator Matt Cheetham's heavy usage of copyrighted characters, despite his adherence to the individual terms of service for both Tumblr and Imgur. Prior to the Apple Watch launch, the Cupertino company also rejected boating app SeaNav US for citing Pebble support in its App Store description.

    While the future of both apps was initially foreboding, both GIF Finder and SeaNav US returned to the App Store, with developer Cheetham documenting in detail his experience with facing Apple's app review board. Today's rejection of Breaking lies in a similar rejection field compared with SeaNav US, both appearing to violate App Store review guideline 3.1, which prohibits the mentioning of competing platforms.

    Most developers haven't faced such strict stonewalling on the issue before, which made SeaNav US' rejection - due to the use of "Pebble" - a day before the Apple Watch launch particularly interesting. Today's rejection of Breaking appears to be a bit of a fluke, but no doubt Apple will allow the app's 1.3 update once the particular screenshot in question is removed.