Apple Wants You To Help In The War On iOS Bugs
After last year’s incessantly buggy iOS releases, Apple appears ready to do anything to sniff out glitches before they hit users en masse—including letting them volunteer as guinea pigs to test pre-release iPhone software.
According to 9to5Mac, Apple will give users an early look at iOS 8.3 by releasing its very first public beta of the software in mid-March. That seems like a bit of a jump, since the current iOS release is version 8.1.3. Apparently Apple is sticking with its traditional test-and-release path for iOS 8.2, now in the hands of developers. The report also claims that Apple will follow up with a public beta release for iOS 9 in the summer.
See also: Apple: Sorry Our iOS 8 Update Borked Your iPhone; Here's How To Fix It
Though the chronology may seem confusing, the overall move itself would make sense in several ways—namely, turning a previous P.R. nightmare into a win.
Spinning A Fail Into A Win
Last fall, iOS 8 brought a world of hurt to users. Various bugs bricked some phones and messed up photo syncing, messages and more on others. None of the problems really hurt iPhone sales, but the company could clearly do without more stumbles of that magnitude.
A public beta gives Apple a golden opportunity to find bugs while also giving fans an early peek at new features. The additional participants would also make for an extra large swath of beta-testers—all the better to really put the software through its paces and boost the odds of finding problems early. Essentially, Apple could give itself an exceptionally large mallet for its whack-a-mole game of bug squashing.
There would be, of course, one more obvious benefit for the company. With a public beta, Apple would have a built-in excuse, should a hail of glitches rain down devices: “Hey, it’s beta software! You knew that going in.”
The public betas will be a first for iOS, though Apple has gone this route before for Mac OS X. The company made beta versions of “Yosemite” (OS X 10.10) available ahead of its October 2014 final release, granting the first one million people who signed up access to the early software. (It’s on track to do the same with the upcoming OS X version 10.10.3.)
iOS eligibility may not be quite so wide open, according to the 9to5Mac story, which says the company will only accept 100,000 iOS testers to maintain an air of “exclusivity."
Nicknamed “Stowe,” developer versions of iOS 8.1 went out earlier this month. It included some bug fixes and improvements, along with support for wireless CarPlay.
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The Apple Watch Could Get Its Own Dedicated Store
Apple is mulling the idea of creating dedicated stores for its Apple Watch device, according to reports in the French press. Those reports pick up on rumors of several upmarket Paris retailers building separate display cases for the smartwatch ahead of its launch in April.
If those display cases prove to be a success, the reports suggest, then Apple will consider setting up new retail outlets specifically to sell the Apple Watch alongside purveyors of luxury goods. It could also set up smaller stores inside spaces run by other retailers, in the same way that Mac computers are currently sold at Best Buy in the U.S.
See also: Apple Bets Big On Its Smartwatch, Although Killer Apps May Be Missing In Action
It's another sign of how Apple sees its smartwatch—as less of a gadget and more of a high-end piece of jewelry. The base price of the device has been set at $349, though the cost of an 18k gold Apple Watch Edition model has been estimated at several thousand dollars.
It would therefore make sense for Apple to adopt the retail strategy used by luxury watchmakers. It would also create a clear distinction between the Apple Watch and the firm's mobile devices and computers.
Of course, Apple already has a strong high street presence, unlike most of its competitors—Apple Stores in several landmark locations across the globe have become almost as iconic as the products inside them. Work is already underway to accommodate the new Apple Watch inside the Cupertino company's retail outlets, and that's said to include high-security safes where the most expensive Apple Watches will be kept.
See also: LG Strives For Style With The All-Metal Urbane Smartwatch
Apple once again appears confident focusing on the premium end of the market—perhaps even more so than with its phones and tablets. While the first Android Wear smartwatches focused very much on functionality and low prices, more recent models (like the LG Urbane) have begun to aim higher in terms of cost and style. Both the Pebble and the Sony Smartwatch 3 are now available in premium steel versions alongside the regular editions.
We'll have to wait until April to see exactly how the Apple Watch will be rolled out, and the way the three editions are priced. If it proves as much of a success as its maker thinks it's going to be, don't be surprised if it gets its own retail space in the near future.
Lead image courtesy of Apple
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Facebook Has Already Shown Us What Its VR App Will Look Like
On Tuesday evening, Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox let slip that the company was working on its own virtual-reality apps.
Cox's revelation, in a talk at the Code Media conference in Dana Point, Calif., is hardly a shocker, given Facebook's purchase of headset maker Oculus VR last year. But it's the first time the company has hinted at any plans to take advantage of its shiny new toy.
So what is a virtual-reality version of Facebook going to look like? Turns out we've already seen it.
Remember Facebook Home, the social network's ill-fated attempt to take over your Android phone? Putting photos and status updates on your lock screen didn't live up to the hype. But in two television commercials—one starring Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself—the company gave a very clear vision of what an immersive, IRL version of Facebook would look like.
In one commercial, an airplane ride gets livened up by a shirtless dude in the luggage compartment, drag queens, and a cute kid:
In the other, Zuckerberg is interrupted by a screaming goat and a pool party:
These wacky interruptions were meant to represent what our friends' pictures and updates would look like if we could experience them all around us.
See also: Facebook Home Could Be A Pain, Unless You Really Love Facebook
The problem is that Facebook Home was a flawed product: It didn't work as well as it could, and it just didn't prove as compelling to users as Facebook's designers and engineers hoped.
"The version of the world where you're sending an immersive picture of what you're doing is far more interesting," Cox told his interlocutor, Recode editor Peter Kafka, at the event. "You'll do it, Beyonce will do it."
Oculus VR, whose Rift headset places you in a virtual world where you can turn left and right and see all around you, could be the vehicle for these experiences. It's far less clear, of course, how we'll capture these 360-degree views of what's happening around us.
But Facebook has the building blocks for those tools, in its core app, as well as photo-sharing tool Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Sharing cat GIFs is so 2014, in other words. Get ready for the screaming goats.
Lead image courtesy of Facebook
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Apple Reportedly Wants To Make iOS 9 Bulletproof
After the kludgey mess of iOS 8’s buggy updates and the swarm of negative user sentiment they triggered, Apple has reportedly gone all out to make the next version of its mobile operating software rock solid.
According to sources cited by 9to5Mac, Apple engineers made bug fixes a “huge” priority in iOS 9. Instead of throwing all of their effort into brand new features, they concentrated on nixing the main issues that plagued the previous version—namely bugs, erratic performance and file sizes that choked software updates or forced users to delete data from their devices to make room.
See also: Apple Really Needs To Get It Together
None of those problems should plague iOS 9—or so, at least, Apple appears to hopes. Because there’s a lot at stake with this update—including its upcoming smartwatch and the fate of Apple’s last 4-inch phone.
You Can’t Build On A Shaky Foundation
Apple software updates come in different shapes and sizes, from mere bug fixes to the bigger introduction of all-new functions—like the introduction of Apple Pay and HealthKit features, both launched among iOS 8’s rapid-fire releases.
Too bad the software updates were often frustrating to install and, once running, frequently glitchy. As device performance tanked, so did Apple’s reputation for simplicity and ease of use.
If the latest report is true, then it's clearly Apple’s attempt to restore some good faith in its users—which may be key during a year that will launch a new, $350 Apple Watch into the market. No one wants to spend a large chunk of change on an unproven gizmo that hinges on glitchy software.
iOS 9: Bad News For Apple Phablet Haters?
That’s not to say iOS 9 won't be anything but a glorified patch. The next major update could fill in other gaps in Apple's software ecosystem, including transit information and indoor maps.
As for improving stability and performance, 9to5Mac notes that the task could be easier if Apple retires its older devices. For instance, if the iPhone 5c, first iPad mini, and fifth-generation iPod touch get the old heave-ho this year, there would be no dusty older gadgets to keep humming. The devices left would be newer ones with advanced processors, allowing iOS 9 engineers to focus on getting the most out of modern 64-bit A7 and A8 processors.
See also: Apple's 4-Inch iPhone May Be Doomed
That would be great news for owners of later-model iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, as well as the new Apple Watch. But it would also mean there’s only one option remaining for people who don’t want a phablet: the iPhone 5S.
Put another way, iOS 9’s release could also mark the end of the last 4-inch Apple smartphone. Hopefully the software update will be worth it.
Photo by Adriana Lee for ReadWrite
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