Apple’s new iPad microsite

Apple has just launched a new microsite celebrating the iPad and how ‘everything changes’ with the device. On the site you’ll find sections dedicated to showing a bunch of apps and ideas about how the iPad could start changing your life in many different areas, such as cooking, small business, traveling, education, etc (once you buy one, of course).

This is in line with Apple winning everywhere recently – except in iPad sales which have been down (12.6 million from 16.35 million in the first quarter.) There is also persistent rumors of an iPad pro being introduced this year, most likely at WWDC in June which would make promoting the device as a whole a step forward in boosting both current and future device sales.

Check out the website http://www.apple.com/ipad/change-everything/ and the new ‘iPad changes everything’ video below.

Apple’s revamped music streaming service

Predicted to be released in late June after being announced at WWDC 2015 in San Francisco, Apple’s revamped music streaming service has just started hitting the next level of tech rumor mills.

While the company is said to be working on last minute record label deals in order for the service to be launched as part of iOS 8.4 and iTunes 12.2.  The current iTunes Radio was announced at WWDC on June 10th, 2013, with the service launching on September 18, 2013, the same day as iOS 7. Available across all Apple devices, it is currently only available in the US and Australia.

Apple purchased Beats Music for $3 Billion dollars last year with the speculated intent of using the brains behind it to not only revamp their music streaming service – but become the best in the business, beating out (ha) other popular moneymakers such as Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, etc.

The revamped service will purportedly be available in additional countries, welcoming a new design, the ability to pay for unlimited song skipping, streaming from music and playlists stored offline, manually created playlists instead of ones using an algorithm.

The beta version of the service has already been seeded to developers as part of iOS 8.4, however we assume (read: hope) that there will be a few tricks up Apple’s  sleeve in order to lure and win over customers, some wow-factor music streaming goodies that have yet to be even whispered about yet.

You will reportedly be able to trial the service for free before signing on the line for about $8-$10 a month.

More teen survey goodness

Piper Jaffray recently did a survey of American teenagers, seeing what tech and social media they’re into compared to years past. The survey is  published and used by investment analysts and company head honchos to see what they should be doing different to pick up the lead in the all-important youth market.

Recently, we learnt that Instagram is number 1 in American teens eyes, whilst Facebook is falling in importance in their wee little eyes. Now we learn that the Apple Watch? Not so much in their focus.They surveyed 6200 teenagers and only 11% plan on purchasing an Apple Watch. This is down from 16% from a similar survey down last Fall. And mainly? They’re in it for the style, rather than the function.

…Yeah, we could probably have guessed that.

The good news for Apple? The iPhone and the iPad remain the most popular smartphone and tablet among teenagers. 66% of teenagers surveyed owned an iPhone, while 64 percent owned an iPad. 72 percent of teens expect their next smartphone purchase will be an iPhone, while 60 percent expect their next tablet to be an iPad.

21 percent of teens expect their next smartphone purchase to be an Android, and 16 percent plan to buy an Android tablet. Interest in Windows tablets has grown slightly, however, and 20 percent of teens expect their next tablet purchase to be Windows-based.

The next Teen survey will be published in October this year, and it will be interesting to see what we expect to be teen interest in the Apple Watch build quite significantly.

Tech of the Week!

Are you one of those people who are always losing things? We get it, yo! That’s why we have some new tech to tell you allll about that will help you NOT lose one of your most important possessions – you wallet.

Give a warm welcome to our Tech of the Week –  The SmartWallet.  This thing? Sounds awesome.

The SmartWallet (above, in all it’s aesthetically pleasing glory) is a wallet that not only carries important things like cash and credit cards, but it also has a built-in 1000 mAh backup battery so you can charge your phone for up to 4 hours on the go.

BUT that’s not all, the main use of the SmartWallet is to make sure you don’t freakin’ lose the thing (and the important things inside). It does this by using GPS. If you lose it within a 50-150 foot radius, use the associated app on your phone and it’ll show you exactly where it is and how to get there.

If the Wallet has been lost outside of that radius, it’ll show you the GPS location the Wallet was last in. Before that happens though, as soon as your wallet goes out of that range, your phone will notify you.

AND if you’ve lost your phone, not your wallet, pressing a button on the wallet will make your phone ring – whether it’s on silent/vibrate, or not.

The wallet was a successful Indiegogo project, and it will retail for $116 USD, so if you’re a loser (of things),  keep an eye out for this one !

Apple’s environmental projects

If you’ve checked out the Apple website recently, you might have seen something new, and no, we don’t mean the Apple Watch.

Good guy Apple has embarked on a number of new environmental projects, in order to ‘leave the world better than we found it’.  They’re developing a renewable micro-hydro project to power data centers, building solar farms in china to reduce their carbon footprint, and beginning a partnership with The Conservation Fund to protect and create the type of forests they use in their packaging. 

Learn more about it by watching the film here.

Google FI

Last week Google launched a new product called Google FI which, in partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile, brings about a new wireless service. Initially only available on Google’s latest Nexus 6 phones, the service intends on disrupting how we use our mobile carriers (or how they use us).

Customers of Google FI will use either Sprint or T-Mobile networks- whichever is the best for them at any given time. So that’s pretty cool. Google claims it switches seamlessly and securely between Wi-Fi and LTE to ensure fast, consistent speeds.

Google FI will also offer unlimited domestic talk and text, low cost international coverage and Wi-Fi Tethering. Cooler.

And then there’s the pricing. If you join Google Fi you’re looking at a flat fee of $20 per month, with $10 per GB of cellular data. Purchase as much as you like, and any data you don’t use will be credited back to your account.

The excellent part here? There’s no contracts or termination fees.
The service is currently available by invitation only, so if you’re interested, sign up here! 

Apple Watch warranty and Applecare+ information

Did you buy an Apple Watch? Are you concerned about damage or breakage? Wondering if Applecare+ is for you? Here’s what your warranty does and does not cover.

You get a 1 year limited hardware warranty with the purchase of your Apple Watch and up to 90 days of complimentary support.

Damage eligible for warranty service includes user-claimed debris under the display glass or pixel anomaly, a back cover removed with no damage, and any condensation in the heart rate sensor windows. A removed back cover is only covered when not accompanied by enclosure damage or evidence of prying.

Damage eligible for out-of-warranty service includes a racked, missing, removed or damaged Digital Crown cap, extreme abrasion, puncture holes, missing buttons resulting from a drop, any chips or multiple cracks in the display glass, a removed back cover with evidence of enclosure damage or prying, a bent or split band enclosure, a missing or removed band release button, or cracks in the back cover.

Damage which would deem your Apple Watch nonreturnable and ineligible for warranty service includes a disassembled unit or missing parts, catastrophic damage, counterfeit or third-party parts, and unauthorized modifications such as aftermarket displays and other non-Apple installed parts.

You’re looking at out-of-warranty service fees of $229, $329 and $2,800 for the Sport, Watch and Edition models respectively for repairs not covered by Apple’s limited one-year warranty or AppleCare+ for Apple Watch.

Out-of-warranty battery service is also available for $79 plus an applicable $6.95 shipping charge if required for all Apple Watch models.

Applecare + for Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition is $49, $69 and $1500 respectively and extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your Apple Watch and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a $69/$79/$1000 service fee plus applicable tax.

You can purchase Applecare+ for Apple Watch within 60 days of your Apple Watch purchase.

iFixit teardown of the Apple Watch

The good people over at iFixit have performed their all-serving ritual of tearing apart new tech, giving the Apple Watch a repairability score of 5/10.

Somewhat expected for an Apple product.  If you’re interested to see the guts of the Apple Watch, check out the teardown here:

Thanks iFixit!

Watch the new Apple Watch Ads!

Just in time for the official release of the Apple Watch, Apple has released a set of three ads celebrating their new wearable tech. Cue sappy romantic music, heartfelt emotions, and ‘grass is greener with an Apple Watch’ themes.

Time to FEEL!

Who wants an Apple Watch now? Huh? Huh?

How to set up and use your Apple Watch!

Did you get a shiny new Apple Watch today?  HERE’S HOW TO USE IT!!

First things first: Make sure you have an iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6, or 6 Plus running iOS 8.2.

Secondly things secondly: Your watch should come with about 50% charge, but charge your watch if it needs it.

Power on the Watch by pressing the side button, and follow the prompts to select a language etc. Launch the Apple Watch App on your iPhone (it was automatically installed when you updated to iOS 8.2) and Tap “Start Pairing” on the main screen. Hold your watch up to your iPhone’s camera so the screen is aligned with the yellow outlined box on your iPhone’s screen, and follow the instructions on your iPhone screen.

If you open the Settings App on your shiny new watch, you’ll find the options to customize your brightness, sound, text size, silencing ability, and Do Not Disturb functions.

Your new best friend is the Digital Crown. Tap it to get back to the home screen, use it to zoom in maps/photos, press it in conjunction with the side button to take a screen shot, press and hold to activate Siri, and double click it to jump to your most recently visited app.

Your second best friend forever is the SWIPE! YES! Swipe up from the watch face to see what Apple calls ‘Glances’ which contains information such as calendar events, weather, heart rate, location, and the ability to access the option to ‘Ping’ your misplaced phone.

Swipe down to see your notifications. Swipe left on a notification to quickly clear it. Check your heartbeat by swiping up to expand Glances and swiping left to the heartbeat card.

Tapping is the cool guy you thought you knew that has a surprise twin brother that seems pretty cool. The Watch is pressure sensitive, so light tapping will have a different effect than if you ‘force touch’ – a slightly longer, firm press.

There are a number of uses for the force touch that become more apparent the more you play with the device. For instance in the maps app, you force touch to get to the search feature. Force touch the watch face to change its design, or on the notifications ‘red dot’ to clear them all, or on the Messages inbox to compose a new text.

In Glances, tap to get more information on any of the applications.

Raising your hand will activate the display and show you the time, the last notification if you’ve received one, or activate Siri if you say “Hey Siri” at the same time. Lowering your wrist after receiving a notification will dismiss it. Putting your hand over the watch face will silence an incoming phone call.

You can also use it to control Apple TV, which could be useful, and also could be super annoying to anyone else in the room (which, yes, can be excellent).

To use Apple Pay, double click the side button and hold the face of the watch near the card reader. POOF, MONEY EXCHANGED!

We’ll be bringing you more Apple Watch updates and user guides as we get to know more about the device, and in the mean time, you should also check out the Apple video guides here.

Happy Weekend Kids!