MacRumors

In betas of iOS 9.1 and OS X 10.11.1, Apple added a mysterious emoji symbol consisting of an eye inside of a speech bubble. At the time, it was not clear what purpose the mystery emoji served, but as Wired points out, it's Apple's way of supporting an anti-bullying campaign launched today by the Ad Council.

The "I Am A Witness" digital anti-bullying campaign aims to empower teenagers to speak up whenever they see bullying, with the emoji Apple implemented serving as a way to show support for someone who is being bullied.

Two designers at ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Angie Elko and Patrick Knowlton, came up with the eye-in-a-speech bubble symbol, and then the ad agency approached Apple to add it as an emoji to the Apple Keyboard. According to Goodby art director Hanna Wittmark, Apple was a fan of the symbol.

"When we first asked about bringing this emoji to the official Apple keyboard, they told us it would take at least a year or two to get it through and approved under Unicode," says Wittmark. The company found a way to fast-track it, she says, by combining two existing emoji.

To create the new anti-bullying emoji, Apple combined the eye emoji with the left speech bubble emoji using what's called a Zero Width Joiner, described on Emojipedia as a unicode character that's able to join two or more characters together. It's also used in emoji like the family, combining Man, Woman, Girl, and Boy emoji to create a single character emoji.

The emoji is a key symbol in the campaign and is available on iPhones running iOS 9.1 and Macs running OS X 10.11.1. The dedicated "I Am A Witness" website asks teens to use the emoji or a specially created "I Am A Witness third-party keyboard to call out bullying.

In addition to Apple, several other tech companies are also supporting the new campaign, including Adobe, Facebook, Google, YouTube, and Twitter, with each of these providing customized content on their respective platforms.

Siri and other voice-activated systems can cause potentially unsafe mental distractions lasting several seconds while driving, according to a new research study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Siri's score of 3.4 on the five-point scale is considered more distracting than Google Now's 3.0 score, but less distracting than Microsoft Cortana, which received a 3.8 rating.

AAA's mental distraction rankings also included vehicles, ranging from the least distracting Chevy Equinox at 2.4 to the Mazda 6 at 4.6, which is nearly the highest level of cognitive distraction. The study found that mental distractions can persist for as long as 27 seconds after using hands-free or voice-activated systems, as drivers readjust to the task of driving.

“The lasting effects of mental distraction pose a hidden and pervasive danger that would likely come as a surprise to most drivers,” said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “The results indicate that motorists could miss stop signs, pedestrians and other vehicles while the mind is readjusting to the task of driving.”

Researchers found that potentially unsafe levels of mental distraction can last for as long as 27 seconds after completing a distracting task in the worst-performing systems studied. At the 25 MPH speed limit in the study, drivers traveled the length of nearly three football fields during this time. When using the least distracting systems, drivers remained impaired for more than 15 seconds after completing a task.

AAA's mental distraction rankings while driving are broken down into five categories:

- Category 1: About the same as listening to the radio or an audio book
- Category 2: About the same as talking on the phone
- Category 3: Equivalent to sending voice-activated texts on an error-free system
- Category 4: About the same as uploading social media
- Category 5: Highly challenging, scientific test designed to overload a driver's attention

The study did not include the latest in-dash systems such as CarPlay or Android Auto.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety published Phase I and Phase II of this study over the past few years. In the second phase, the foundation found Siri's high complexity and low intuitiveness resulted in some of the highest levels of mental distraction compared to other in-car tasks such as adjusting the radio or navigating complex menus.

HTC has denied claims that its new flagship One A9 smartphone copies the iPhone. At a press briefing in Taiwan, company executive Jack Tong said that "it's Apple that copies us" in terms of antenna design—the Taiwanese handset maker was first to release a metal unibody smartphone nearly three years ago.

The response was reported by Want China Times (via BGR):

"We're not copying. We made a uni-body metal-clad phone in 2013. It's Apple that copies us in terms of the antenna design on the back," Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said at a press briefing at the Taiwan launch of the One A9.

"The A9 is made thinner and more lightweight than our previous metal-clad phones. This is a change and evolution, and we're not copying," he said.

The original HTC One M7 launched in March 2013 with an aluminum unibody frame and plastic antenna lines along the top and bottom of the smartphone, both design cues that Apple adopted for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, released 18 months later, and has since carried over to the iPhone 6s lineup.

The One A9 is considered an iPhone lookalike because it has a similar rounded chassis, plastic antenna lines and a protruding rear-facing camera, and because it is available in almost identical colors as the current iPhone lineup. The smartphone also has one speaker located next to the charging port on the bottom.

HTC's rebuttal comes after The Verge described the One A9 as "the most blatant and highest-profile iPhone ripoff since Samsung's original Galaxy S," a bold argument that has been contested by some HTC supporters. The copycat allegations have received significant media coverage this week.

Ultimately, while there is no denying that HTC's One A9 is an iPhone-driven evolution of the HTC One series, it is clear that both smartphone makers have borrowed similar design qualities from each other over the years. Apple has not commented on the matter, but has taken legal action against Samsung for copying in the past.

The One A9 is HTC's latest flagship Android smartphone, featuring a 5-inch screen with a curved-edge display, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.5 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB storage, Quick Charge 2.0 and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The smartphone is available in a range of colors, including Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Deep Garnet and Topaz Gold, for $399 unlocked.

In a new nationwide study conducted by retailer Best Buy, the top gadgets and products planned to be gifted and asked for this holiday season were detailed in a "Top 15 Tech Gifts for 2015" list. Apple's iPad (with no specific preference given to the Air or Mini line) came out on top, with the Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Headphones, MacBook, and smart HD TVs rounding out the top five spots.

1. iPad
2. Bose QuietComfort 25 Noise Cancelling Headphones
3. MacBook
4. Samsung 48” Smart 4K Ultra HD TV
5. Sharp 43” Smart HDTV with Roku
6. Microsoft Surface
7. Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II
8. Fitbit Charge HR Heart Rate and Activity Tracker
9. Samsung Galaxy Tab S2
10. Dyson V6 Absolute Bagless Cordless Vacuum
11. Vizio 43” Smart 4K Ultra HD TV
12. Apple Watch
13. SONOS PLAY:1 Wireless Speaker
14. iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot
15. GoPro HERO4 Action Camera

Apple's products account for three of the top 15 gifts this year, with the newest device -- the Apple Watch -- also ranking the lowest of the company's devices in the twelfth spot, four places below the Fitbit Charge activity tracker. Unsurprisingly, Best Buy's study also found that those aged 18-34 placed consumer electronics highest on their wish lists, prioritizing technology over other categories like clothing, books, and jewelry.

The report also found that men are both more likely than women to want tech-related gifts for the holidays are be the ones who gift consumer electronics to friends and family more frequently. Self-gifting was also factored into the survey thanks to the highly discounted nature of holiday shopping, with 19 percent of those interested in Apple's iPad planning on buying it for themselves during the gift-giving season. Similarly, 15 percent of those who chose the MacBook said it would be a present for themselves.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released shipments forecasts for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch for upcoming fiscal quarters. Kuo estimates between 70-75 million iPhone and 3.5-4 million Apple Watch shipments during Q1 2016 of the fiscal year, which encompasses the busy holiday shopping season in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe and many other regions.

In a research note, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, Kuo believes that iPhone sales momentum could gradually decline in the new year, possibly enough for the device to experience its first year-over-year shipments decline in the first quarter of a year in 2016.

We estimate iPhone shipments rose 2.1% QoQ and 23.6% YoY to 48.5mn units in 3Q15, of which 20-22mn units were iPhone 6s. We attribute the solid YoY growth to the inclusion of China as the first-launch market for iPhone 6s and to increased output of the new model (versus 14-15mn units of iPhone 6 in 3Q14).

However, as we do not expect overall demand for iPhone 6s to be significantly stronger than that for iPhone 6, we expect shipments momentum could gradually decline in 4Q15-1Q16F on a YoY basis. We expect iPhone may see its first YoY shipments decline in the first quarter of a year in 2016.

Kuo also forecasts between 14.5-15.5 million iPad shipments and 5.4-5.6 million Mac shipments in fiscal Q1 2016, which lines up with Q4 2015 of the calendar year, a three-month period ending December 31.

The analyst expects iPad Pro shipments to be around 2 million in fiscal Q1 2016, and believes the tablet's higher selling price will help offset an annual decline in iPad shipments, which could fall 16% to 40-42 million units in 2016.

We now expect shipments of iPad Pro to be around 2mn units in 4Q15, versus our previous forecast of 4-5mn units given quality issues with Sharp’s panel supply. However, thanks to a higher shipments weighting of iPad Pro, coupled with a lower mix of iPad mini, we anticipate the ASP of end-products and some components will trend up in 2016F (e.g. we estimate the ASP of backlight unit to rise 30-35% in 2016). This should be enough to offset total iPad shipments decline, which we estimate will fall 16% to 40-42mn units in 2016F.

Kuo expects that, amid lackluster sales for PCs, Mac sales will continue to be better than those of competitors. The well-informed analyst says the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro is Apple's most popular notebook, followed by the 12-inch MacBook, and expects the new iMacs with 4K and 5K Retina displays to account for at least 50-60% of total iMac shipments in Q1 2016 of the fiscal year.

Following today's slew of software updates, including a golden master of tvOS for developers and a release of Xcode 7.1, Apple is now inviting developers to begin submitting their tvOS apps for App Store review. Apple will begin taking orders for the new Apple TV next Monday with shipping beginning later in the week, allowing a week or so of lead time for Apple to begin reviewing and approving apps for the new platform before customers begin receiving their set-top boxes.

Alongside today's invitation to developers, Apple has also published a new overview giving developers an idea of what steps they need to take to ensure their tvOS apps are ready for submission. The company points developers to Xcode 7.1 and the latest version of the tvOS SDK, and reminds them that apps may be a maximum of 200 MB in the main app bundle with up to 20 GB of content to be downloaded on-demand as users need it.

Apple also includes reference to the company's Human Interface Guidelines for Apple TV to help developers ensure their designs are optimized for the big screen and that their apps will work with the new Apple TV Remote.

Finally, Apple gives an overview of the requirements for App Store product pages on Apple TV, including tips on app naming, icons, descriptions, keywords, screenshots, and universal purchases to support both iOS and tvOS. Apple notes it will review tvOS apps according to the company's App Review Guidelines, and app submissions set for automatic release could go live at any time and immediately become available to developers and testers who already have the new Apple TV.

Apple today released a new series of short 15 second ads, all of which highlight different Apple Watch features like Siri, Apple Music, Apple Pay, notifications, fitness tracking, and more.

In the ad titled "Skate," a group of skaters use Apple Pay to buy ice cream, while in "Travel," the Apple Watch's Wallet app is used to display a boarding pass.

In the "Play" ad, the Apple Watch is used to make a bid on eBay while its wearer is also playing the piano, and in "Kiss," two people about to kiss are interrupted by a notification for an Uber arrival, which is dismissed so the moment can quickly continue.

"Dance" showcases Siri and Apple Music, depicting a guy dancing around after asking Siri to play 80s music, while "Move" highlights the activity tracking capabilities of the Apple Watch.

"Style" is the sole ad that stands out from the other ads that show the Apple Watch in action, as it focuses on the different band options for the Apple Watch.

All of the videos depict the Apple Watch in use while on the go or performing other tasks, giving examples of how it fits into daily life in an unobtrusive way to make mundane tasks easier. The seven new ads that have been released today are the second wave in the latest Apple Watch ad series, which previously featured six similar short ads that were released two weeks after watchOS 2 launched. The full set of ads is available on Apple's YouTube channel.

Apple today added a web-based Find My Friends app to its iCloud.com site (via 9to5Mac), allowing users to locate their friends on a Mac or PC through the web. Find My Friends has long been available on iPhones and iPads through an iOS app, but this is the first time the feature has been made available on all platforms through a universal web app.

Find My Friends will display the location of each friend on a map, and it will also let users know which friends are located nearby. Today's addition of Find My Friends to iCloud.com comes following its promotion to a default app within iOS 9, which means it comes pre-installed on all iOS devices and cannot be deleted.

Find My Friends joins Find My iPhone and several other iCloud apps, including Mail, Calendar, Photos, Contacts, Notes, Reminders, iCloud Drive, and the iWork suite of apps,

Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 2 to version 2.0.1. The update comes one month after Apple first released watchOS 2 to the public with new features like Nightstand mode, native apps, new watch faces, and more.

The 2.0.1 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 charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 2.0.1 requires iOS 9.1 or iOS 9.0.2 to be installed on the iPhone.

This update contains new emoji characters, performance improvements, and bug fixes, including:

- Fixes an issue that could cause software updates to stall
- Fixes issues that were impacting battery performance
- Resolves an issue that prevented a managed iPhone from syncing iOS Calendar events to Apple Watch
- Addresses an issue that could prevent location information from properly updating
- Fixes an issue that could cause Digital Touch to send from an email address instead of a phone number
- Addresses an issue that could cause instability when using a Live Photo as a watch face
- Resolves an issue that allows the sensors to stay on indefinitely when using Siri to measure heart rate

The watchOS 2.0.1 update includes a whole slew of bug fixes, as listed above, and it also includes support for the new emoji also made available in OS X with 10.11.1 El Capitan and iOS with iOS 9.1.