Michael is a Creative Editor who covered Apple Retail and design on 9to5Mac. His stories highlighted the work of talented artists, designers, and customers through a unique lens of architecture, creativity, and community.
Contact Michael on Twitter to share Apple Retail, design, and history stories: @MichaelSteeber
Fans of Apple’s HomeKit smart home platform looking for connected cameras have been faced with a limited number of supported options. Today at CES 2018, Netgear plans to add an offering of its own, announcing the delivery of HomeKit support for their Arlo Baby Smart HD Monitor Camera.
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Orbit, makers of irrigation products spanning from sprinkler systems to landscaping accessories, has announced at CES 2018 that their line of B-hyve smart irrigation products will be receiving support for HomeKit and the Apple Home app.
Several HomeKit-compatible security accessories have already made their way to market, but today Abode Systems has entered the space with a DIY option called Iota.
Other World Computing has made a name for themselves among professional Mac users with their line of powerful and fast external hard drives and adapters. This year at CES, OWC is showing several new products, all featuring Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.
Every year, the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off with an event called CES Unveiled, a preview of some of the newest products that will be on display at the show. A brief walk around the booths at this year’s Unveiled revealed that accessory makers are doubling down on smart home products in 2018 – and that means new HomeKit accessories.
Ahead of the opening of Apple’s first ever retail location in South Korea, colorful new banners have been installed to cover the store’s glass entryway from prying eyes. When translated from Korean, the banners read “Nice to meet you.”
CES 2018 has arrived, and 9to5Mac is on the ground all week in Las Vegas to bring you coverage of the newest gear and accessories being announced on the show floor.
While some of Apple Park‘s earliest employees make themselves at home in the new $5 billion campus this week, a new book published by the Norman Foster Foundation has given us a closer look at some of the early design concepts considered, but ultimately scrapped in favor of the “spaceship.”
ConnectSense first debuted their original external Smart Outlet with HomeKit compatibility at the end of 2015, and is now expanding its product offering just in time for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Today, the home automation company announced a new In-Wall Outlet, a hard wired version of their original accessory.
2017 was an incredibly active year for Apple retail, as the company’s refreshed store design continued its rollout across the world. As the calendar comes to a close, let’s take a look at every store location opened under the guidance of Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts.
Some iMac Pro customers are waking up to a 5K present under the tree as early orders of the powerful new machine have begun arriving early on the doorsteps of a lucky few. New images posted to Instagram and a video on YouTube show the iMac Pro and Space Gray accessories in the hands of customers.
One of my-all time favorite additions to the iPhone’s camera app is Live Photos, the feature that saves a short, 3 second video clip with each photo you take. Playing back Live Photos from an event has always been cumbersome though, requiring you to swipe through each photo and play each clip separately. Now, a new app aims to solve that problem by instantly turning groups of your Live Photos into shareable video clips.
In most circumstances, I’d be repelled by a chilling, robotic voice mocking me from inside of my phone. The one exception is if that voice belongs to GLaDOS, the sharp-witted, snide, and devilishly funny computer that provides background commentary for Portal and Portal 2, the hit puzzle games that became instant favorites of mine from the minute I picked them up.
Now, GLaDOS is back – and on the iPhone, in a new title that combines the story and visuals of the Portal franchise with the physics and gameplay of the popular line of Bridge Constructor games. Bridge Constructor Portal launches tomorrow on iOS, and we’ve been testing it out to see if it can live up to its name.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly stated his belief that technology should be accessible to everyone. For decades, Apple products have shipped with accessibility features, proof that these values are deeply rooted in the company. Apple even launched a dedicated accessibility website in 2016, showcasing the stories of several individuals and how their lives have benefited from accessible products.
One branch of accessibility that’s received an increasing amount of attention is hearing. While iOS has supported hearing aids in some capacity for years, deep integration with the iPhone first became possible when Apple expanded its Made for iPhone (MFi) licensing program to cover hearing devices. Advancements in Bluetooth Low Energy technology in concert with a proprietary audio transmission protocol have been essential in enabling a steady stream of iPhone-compatible hearing aids and cochlear implants to be released.
At the same time, Apple developed an audio product of its own – AirPods. The wireless headphones include advanced low energy technology themselves, powered by the Apple-designed W1 chip. Between the company’s work in both accessibility and audio, Apple finds itself in a unique position to dramatically transform the market of hearing augmentation.
9to5Mac reader Philipp has shared some new photos with us of construction progress at Apple’s new retail location on Kärntner Straße in Vienna, Austria. Details about the store, Apple’s first location in Austria, originally came last August when it was revealed that Apple was finalizing plans to take over the space formerly occupied by fashion retailer Espirit.
Adobe’s December release of Lightroom CC for iPad and iPhone includes a few new interesting features that will be helpful to amateur and professional photographers alike. The update comes after Adobe significantly overhauled the Lightroom experience earlier this fall, bringing closer integration between the Creative Cloud desktop application and mobile experience.
Live game show app HQ Trivia has taken the world by storm in recent weeks, climbing App Store charts and attracting over 400,000 viewers during peak streams. Not wanting to miss out on the trend, competing apps are beginning to spring up. One of the more notable offerings comes from an early developer of the former viral app Yik Yak, and is about to leave beta on the App Store.
Speaking at the Pivot Summit in Geelong, Victoria today, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak shared a few new tidbits about his experience with the iPhone X so far and his thoughts on Face ID vs. Touch ID. Woz also offered up a few anecdotes about his years working with Steve Jobs. Wozniak is one of several speakers at the one day conference focused on providing insight about emerging technology.
When Apple unveiled the HomePod this past June at WWDC 2017, I didn’t give it too much of my attention. As a design piece, it looked like something I’d be happy to put in my living room. As a product, I just wasn’t interested. Smart speakers in general have seemed like little more than a novelty to me, and I’ve resisted buying one… until now. Last week I welcomed a Google Home Mini into my life to see if it could change my mind. Here’s what I found…
One of the headline features of the dual camera system in recent iPhones is Portrait Mode, an effect that simulates a DSLR-style shallow depth of field by intelligently blurring the background of your photos. Apple took the feature a step further with the iPhone X, adding Portrait Mode selfies and introducing simulated Portrait Lighting.
While these features are currently limited to still photos, future iPhones could someday use the same technology to bring the depth effect to videos, a stunning look currently only possible with high-end video gear or a considerable amount of work in post-production. This feature could be a game changer for videographers, editors, and consumers alike, who have already embraced the iPhone as a serious filmmaking tool. With some effort, the effect is actually possible with today’s iPhones. Here’s how it can be done.
Twice a day, my afternoon and evening are punctuated by an eagerly awaited push notification inviting me to join a growing crowd of fans all over the world playing HQ Trivia, a modern take on the classic TV game show. The brief, fifteen minute games usually end for me with a “savage question” that eliminates my chance of winning a growing cash prize, but leaves me excited to try again tomorrow. The thrill of the game is no accident; it’s all part of the app’s clever design.
9to5Mac asked Rus Yusupov, co-founder of HQ Trivia and the former social network Vine, just what makes the new game so captivating.
Less than five miles from Cupertino, nestled in the shadows of the newly-opened Apple Park, construction crews are quietly putting the finishing touches on another massive development project built under guidance from Apple. A striking architectural feat when viewed from any angle, Sunnyvale’s new “Central & Wolfe” campus will open in its doors to thousands of Apple employees in early 2018. 9to5Mac stopped by the future campus to see how the new buildings are shaping up.
After closing this past spring for remodeling, Apple’s Burlingame, CA retail location reopened this morning in conjunction with their Burlington, MA store. Both stores have been updated to match Apple’s new retail design style. 9to5Mac stopped in at the new Burlingame store opening where an impressive line formed to see what’s new.