MacRumors

Popular iPhone camera accessory maker Olloclip today announced the launch of the new Active Lens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which combines a 2x telephoto lens with a new ultra wide-angle lens. The lens joins Olloclip's other available lenses for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, giving photographers lens additions that are good for capturing landscapes, group selfies, and zoomed in shots.

Like the rest of the lens lineup for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Active Lens is compatible with both the front and rear-facing cameras. It includes a 2x telephoto lens on one side, which can be used to get closer to subjects, and a wide-angle lens on the other side, able to capture more of an area in a single shot. The wide-angle lens in particular will work well with the front facing camera, as it can capture a wider field of view for group selfies.

Capture it all. A brand new Ultra-Wide Lens gives the iPhone a wider "action camera" field of view for everything from panoramic landscapes to a group selfie on the front FaceTime camera.

Get in close. Switch quickly and easily to the Telephoto Lens with a 2x optical zoom and get twice as close to the action or achieve stunning portraits with a shallower depth of field.

Olloclip's new Active Lens, along with the rest of its lenses, is compatible with the company's recently announced Ollocase for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which will be shipping out to customers in the near future.

The Active Lens can be pre-ordered from the Olloclip website for $99.

Automatic today announced the release of a second-generation Automatic Adapter, which adds dual Bluetooth data streams, built-in GPS, Made for iPhone (MFi) certfication, and an improved connector to its existing feature set.

Like the original Automatic Adapter, the new version plugs into a car's OBD-II port to provide information like distance traveled, gas used, time spent in the car, and more. It's able to provide notifications to advise drivers on when to ease off on the gas and brake pedals to optimize speeds and save gas, and it can deliver information on what's wrong with a car via check engine alerts.

Data collected is aggregated into a weekly driving score, and via Bluetooth, the accompanying app can let you know where your car is parked. A free crash alert service sends assistance whenever a severe collision is detected.

Along with a new Adapter, Automatic also announced an SDK and an App Gallery, which houses third party apps that are able to take advantage of the data that Automatic supplies. There are more than a dozen apps that already offer Automatic integration, like IFTTT, Nest, Yo, and Pebble.

One of the major features that Automatic's new app integration brings is the ability to see a car's raw performance data in real time (with the new Adapter). Automatic now delivers data to DashCommand, Harry's LapTimer, and OBD Fusion, three apps that can read information from a car's OBD-II port sent from the Automatic.

With Automatic's SDK, additional apps may include data from the Automatic Adapter in the future. The SDK offers access to information like mileage, routes, driving events, real-time speed, RPM, and more.

The Automatic Adapter can be purchased from the Automatic website for $99.95.

Did you ever think the day would come when we could call someone right from our wrists? It still seems like the stuff that science fiction is made of, but you can, in fact, make and receive phone calls on Apple Watch. On Apple Watch, calls are routed through the iPhone, but you can answer even with your iPhone in another room or tucked away in a pocket, carrying on an entire conversation right from your watch.

Answering a Call

Answering a phone call is self-explanatory. When the call comes in, all you have to do is tap the green answer button. If you don't want to answer it, you can tap the red decline button and send the call to voicemail instead.

You can also choose to answer the call on your iPhone or send a text message. When the call comes in, turn the Digital Crown or swipe upwards to access these options.

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Activist investor and billionaire Carl Icahn, during an interview with CNBC today, expressed confusion over The Wall Street Journal's recent report claiming that Apple scrapped its plans for a full television set more than a year ago. Icahn and his investment firm Icahn Enterprises remain confident that Apple will enter the television and automotive spaces, even as analyst Gene Munster admits he was wrong.

"After many years of rumors as part of Apple’s push into television and as we referenced previously, we expect in FY 2016 Apple will sell 55” and 65” ultra high definition television sets," said Icahn in his open letter. "We forecast revenues of $15 billion in FY 2016 and $37.5 billion in FY 2017 on 10 million and 25 million units respectively with average selling prices of $1,500."

The open letter also predicts that the iPhone will experience modest 2.3% revenue growth in the 2016 fiscal year, the iPad will rebound with a strong performance and revenue growth of 27.7% in FY 2016 and the Mac will continue to make gains over the next year. Icahn Enterprises predicts 10 million Apple Watch sales in the second half of 2015 and international expansion of Apple Pay.

Apple shares are currently trading at just over $130 as of publication time, giving the company a market capitalization of over $753 billion. In the past twenty-four hours, Apple surpassed the $750 billion market cap milestone for the first time as AAPL shares have risen following the open letter. Icahn himself has earned about $3.4 billion since announcing his position in the company in August 2013.

Alongside the start of pre-orders for the Apple Watch last month, Mophie announced the Watch Dock, a $60 aluminum stand for the Apple Watch with leather accents and hideaway cable storage. It took a bit longer than the original estimate of April 24 for the Watch Dock to launch, but it's now shipping out to the first batch of pre-order customers and Mophie has provided us with one for testing purposes.

The Watch Dock is very straightforward, with the box containing only the stand and a quick start guide illustrating how to route your existing Apple Watch charging cable through the stand. A circular cutout at the top of the stand holds the inductive charger, with the cable being fed through a rubber-enclosed channel along the inside of the stand's arm, disappearing into the base and out the back.

The cable management system offers a clean look for the stand and the design makes it easy to mount an Apple Watch with either a looped or a traditional band for charging. The angled design of the stand makes it ideal for placement on a nightstand or desk where an occasional glance might be necessary.

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Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 35 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has close to 300 participating issuers nationwide, and several hundred more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future.

The full list of new Apple Pay participating issuers is reflected below, although it's worth noting that some banks, credit unions and financial institutions listed may have already had support for the contactless payments service and are only now being reflected on Apple's website.

The full list of new Apple Pay participating issuers:

• 1st Financial Federal Credit Union
  

• Affinity Bank
  

• Bank of Springfield
  

• Berkshire Bank
  

• Box Elder Credit Union
  

• C&F Bank
  

• Capitol Federal Savings
  

• Christian Community Credit Union
  

• Community First Credit Union of Florida
  

• Credit Union of Denver
  

• Denver Community Credit Union
  

• Education First Credit Union
  

• Educators Credit Union
  

• Financial Partners Credit Union
  

• First City Credit Union
  

• First Premier Bank
  

• Freedom Credit Union
  

• NASA Federal Credit Union
  

• Numerica Credit Union
  

• PremierOne Credit Union
  

• Purdue Federal Credit Union
  

• Rivermark Community Credit Union
  

• San Francisco Federal Credit Union
  

• Simmons First National Bank
  

• Summit Credit Union
  

• Synchrony Bank
  

• The Citizen Bank of Clovis
  

• UMe Federal Credit Union
  

• University Federal Credit Union
  

• Utah Power Credit Union
  

• Valor Credit Union
  

• Vermont Federal Credit Union
  

• WSECU
  

• WECU (Whatcom Educational Credit Union)

Apple Pay remains available in the United States only, although Apple is committed to an international rollout of the mobile payments service in additional countries such as Canada, China and the United Kingdom. Canada, a well-prepared candidate for Apple Pay, could be the first country to embrace the service outside of the United States as early as November.

Longtime iTunes partner Starbucks today announced a brand new music partnership with music streaming service Spotify. Starbucks members will have access to in-store music within the Starbucks app powered by Spotify, and Spotify users will have opportunities to gain Starbucks rewards points.

“We plan on building one of the most robust digital ecosystems of any retailer in the world. Given the evolution of the music industry and the proliferation of streaming technology, it was natural that we would partner with Spotify in offering our customers a new way to engage with their favorite music,” added Kevin Johnson, president and coo of Starbucks.

The coffee company's 150,000 U.S.-based employees will receive a free Spotify Premium subscription and will be able to use Spotify to influence in-store playlists. Those playlists will then be available to stream within the Starbucks app. Spotify users will also be able to gain rewards points for the Starbucks app and will be able to listen to the in-store playlists within the Spotify apps.

It's unclear whether Starbucks will continue its music partnership with Apple's iTunes. The two companies first established a partnership in 2007, allowing iPod users to figure out what was playing in Starbucks stores. Later, the coffee company began giving away free iTunes songs, which can still be accessed within the Starbucks mobile app. In 2011, Starbucks and Apple extended their partnership to the App Store. More recently, the two companies began teaming up for (Product) Red iTunes / Starbucks gift card combinations.

The new partnership will roll out to the U.S. later this year, with Canada and the United Kingdom to follow thereafter.

Siri is a workhorse of a virtual assistant for iOS, but I rarely see anyone actually using the feature on the iPhone. Maybe it is because most people don't know all of the amazing things she (or he) can do. Siri's improved a lot over the past several years and there's now a long list of tasks she can accomplish, so if you haven't been using Siri it might be time to give it another look.

Siri can schedule appointments, call your friends, read your text messages to you, play back your music, and much more. Apple recently updated Siri's webpage with more details on the different commands. Today, we've got a quick set up guide for using Siri, plus a list of features that Apple's virtual assistant can perform if you already know how to use it.

Set up Siri

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Siri & Search from the menu.
3. Turn on the toggle switch alongside Press Side Button for Siri.
4. Optionally, turn on the toggle switch for Listen for "Hey Siri" to use the feature hands-free.
5. Select "My Information" to add your contact details to Siri's database.

Once activated, to use Siri, simply hold the Home button or the Side button on the iPhone (or iPad) until the microphone icon appears, or simply say, "Hey Siri" (note that this handsfree activation only works on iPhone 8 and earlier when the device is connected to power). On the Apple Watch, you can hold the Digital Crown to bring up Siri, or just say "Hey Siri" immediately after raising your wrist or tapping the screen to wake up the watch.

Siri can perform a variety of tasks to make your life easier. Below is a list of phrases that you can use to make the most of your virtual assistant

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Pronto is a small hub that's able to turn your iPhone into a universal remote, allowing it to control a range of electronics and devices within your home using 360 degree infrared. The Pronto connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth and works with an accompanying Peel Smart Remote app, which provides the remote interface and lets you see what's on television through an included guide.

As you can see in our video review below, the Peel app and the Pronto work together well, and with the included IR extension cable, you can put devices out of sight without losing the infrared connection.

The Peel app includes simple controls for all devices and it makes it easy to switch between each one. There are also profiles available for different rooms, so the iPhone and Pronto pairing can essentially replace all of the remotes in the house.

Smart remotes have been around for ages, and many technology companies already offer apps allowing the iPhone to control things like televisions and media players, but the Pronto goes one step further and lets you control all of your devices with one app. It's quite similar to Logitech's line of Harmony smart remotes, but without some of the bells and whistles and with a lower price.

The Pronto can be purchased from Best Buy or NewEgg for $49.99.

Popular audiobooks service Audible today announced CarPlay support for its iOS app, allowing iPhone users who have CarPlay to listen to their Audible audiobooks in their vehicles. Audiobooks for Audible is the second audiobook app available for CarPlay, following in the footsteps of Audiobooks.com, which added CarPlay support to its iOS app back in March. Apple will also be introducing its own Audiobooks app for CarPlay with the debut of iOS 8.4.

With the addition of CarPlay support, Audible becomes one of a handful of third-party apps to work with Apple's in-car infotainment system. Apple has maintained strict control over CarPlay apps due to safety concerns, allowing only certain audio-based apps to work with the feature. Other available CarPlay apps include iHeartRadio, Rdio, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, AtBat, CBS Radio, and Umano.

CarPlay availability remains limited as many automobile manufacturers have yet to introduce the system into their vehicles, though many have pledged to debut support in 2015/2016 models. CarPlay is mainly accessible through third-party infotainment systems from companies like Alpine and Pioneer.

Along with CarPlay support, today's Audible update also brings design changes and feature improvements to the iPhone and iPad apps.

- Lock Screen/Control Center – Previously, the Lock Screen/Control Center buttons were always chapter forward/back, even if your settings were for 30-second forward/back. Now, your lock screen/Control Center will feature the correct icons.
- Sleep Timer – There is now a “Reset Timer” option after the sleep timer ends, reducing the number of taps from 4 to 2.
- Sleep Timer – The fade-out returns.
- Discover – On iPhone, we’ve updated the visual design by removing the dark overlay and going to a grid.
- Discover – On iPad, we’ve replaced “Discover” with a true browse experience (it used to just be search). It should now mirror the iPhone version.
- When you sample a book from a book detail page in “Discover” or search, it now plays in the player. This allows you to leave the detail page and still listen to the sample.
- New Tab Bar – We moved Settings into the main navigation and created an overflow menu (on iPhone) for the items that no longer fit on the main tab.

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