Read original story on: Re/code
Apple is enlisting multiple ad tech vendors, including MediaMath, The Trade Desk, AdRoll, GET IT Mobile, Accordant and Adelphic, to help it sell automated mobile ads via its iAd platform. The news came just days after Apple’s partnership with ad tech company Rubicon was announced. With programmatic ad buying becoming the new industry standard for web ads, it makes sense for Apple to bring it to mobile ads.
Read original story on: The Verge
Apple will soon allow third-party manufacturers to integrate its Lightning port directly into their Apple accessories. Apple has already opened up the Lightning connection to headphone makers for better audio quality, but it will be very interesting to see what this newfound connectivity can bring to Apple devices in areas like the connected car or the Internet of Things.
Read original story on: Business Insider
In their continuous quest to upstage Apple, Samsung has unveiled its answer to the infamous iPhone 6 “bendgate” with an actual bendable smartphone. After reportedly working on bendable screens for smartphones over the past few years, the company is now promising that display technology will arrive in real products starting next year. How this design brings anything practical to devices besides flexibility is still unclear.
Read original story on: WSJ.com
Almost one month after its official launch, Apple Pay has finally added support for UnionPay, China’s most popular payment card (and the only government-sanctioned payment and inter-bank clearinghouse in mainland China), with over 4.5 billion cards issued. Right now, payment is limited to purchasing digital goods on its regional App Store only. But given China’s booming ecommerce sector, which is projected to hit $409 billion this year, it seems safe to assume that Apple Pay will be expanding its functionality in China soon.
Read original story on: The Verge
With Apple Pay officially going public yesterday, banks and credit card companies are now in a tight race to be the first ones you load onto your iPhone. For one thing, banks are keen to have their customers use a digital wallet over a credit card because it could save them the considerable cost of making, distributing, and replacing plastic cards.
More importantly, Apple Pay can work with multiple credit and debit cards loaded into Passbook. But most of the time people will probably be relying on the default card, avoiding the hassle of unlocking the phone and tapping around in Passbook. It’s no wonder banks are competing eagerly for prime real estate on Apple Pay.
We’ve known about Apple Pay since its grand introduction at the last Apple event, but that doesn’t make Apple Pay’s official release any less exciting. If anything, some new developments surfaced today that only increases the anticipation. Billed as an easy, secure and private way to pay by Cook, Apple Pay is set for a public release on Monday, October 20.
More Merchants On Board
Merchant acceptance is key to any payment method, and Apple is doing all it can to bring national retailers and franchises on board. Since the last announcement, Apple has persuaded 500 more banks and even more business, like Airbnb and StubHub, to use Apple Pay.
Pay With The New iPad
Unsurprisingly, the new iPad Air 2 arrived with Touch ID embedded, enabling users to pay with tablets, as well as encouraging cross-screen shopping. Right now it seems that it is limited to online shopping, as no mention was made of NFC.
Set for public launch next Monday, Apple Pay is well poised to finally push mobile payment into mainstream, and we can’t wait to see the changes it will bring to consumer behavior.
Apple today announced that its newest entry in OS X is set for official release today. First revealed at Apple’s WWDC back in June, the much-anticipated OS X Yosemite boasts new features such as enhanced iMessage support and spotlight search, actionable notifications, and most importantly, iCloud-based continuity.
As with previous OS releases, Yosemite will be free to upgrade and come preinstalled on new Apple’s many new offerings unveiled today, which will no doubt boost its chances of quick adoption. Since Yosemite is designed to work with devices running iOS 8, especially thanks to continuity features like auto-synced text messages, instant hotspot, and Handoff, Apple users who upgrade to OS Yosemite will be more incentivized to update to iOS 8. Not only will this help Apple sell more devices (some old devices, like iPhone 4S, cannot handle iOS 8), it also spells good news for media owners and brands, as this is only going to drive cross-platform media consumption.
As speculated, the focus of today’s Apple event turned out to be hardware updates: from new iPads to an updated Mac Mini and redesigned iMac desktops, Apple’s product lineup got a big update just in time for the holiday season. Let’s take a look one by one.
Next-Gen iPads
Everyone suspected that the new iPad Air 2 would be lighter, thinner (only 6.1mm, 18% thinner than its predecessor), and faster (with a new A8X processor)—and it is. With Touch ID, the new iPad will also be Apple Pay-ready to help with Apple’s entry into mobile payment. In addition, the iPad Mini received a similar update to continue occupy the lower end of tablet market.
New iMac with Retina Screen
The iMac desktop hasn’t received any significant updates in the past two years, so it came as a pleasant surprise when Apple unveiled an improved iMac, complete with a stunning retina 5K display and an even thinner design, and boosted key specs across the board. Starting at $2499, the new iMac starts shipping today.
Updated Mac Mini
Similarly, the Mac Mini was last updated was in 2012, making it due for an update. The refreshed Mac Mini sports a compact design with faster WiFi, more storage space, and an updated Haswell processor that boosts general graphics performance.
Source: ReadWrite
Google Now, Siri, and Cortana were each given 3,000 voice queries in a new study to compare the capability of these three major voice-activated AIs. Google Now emerged as the clear champion with 88% of the questions handled correctly. Siri took the second-place with a 53% success rate, while Microsoft’s newly introduced Cortana finished with a mere 40%. Looks like both Siri and Cortana still have a lot of room for improvement.
By now, you probably know about Apple’s live event tomorrow. But after September’s double punch of the Apple Watch and iPhone 6 (and Plus), how will the Cupertino company attempt to wow audiences this time?
Loads of Hardware Updates
The focus of tomorrow’s Apple event is widely speculated to be hardware updates: from new iPads to an updated Mac Mini, everything seems ripe for an annual update just in time for the holiday season. Still, the suspense remains on just how “drastic” the updates will be. For instance, everybody knows that the new iPads are going to be thinner, lighter and faster—but will they come with NFC and Touch ID to make it Apple Pay-ready?
Public Release of Yosemite And Apple Pay
The much-anticipated public release for OS Yosemite and Apple Pay is all-but-confirmed at this point. The scope of Apple Pay’s roll-out, though, will be one interesting thing that we will hopefully find out.
Possible Update of Apple HomeKit
Finally, rumor has it that Apple will update its long-ignored HomeKit by integrating Siri and turning Apple TV into a central hub for smart home appliances. Though least likely to happen, this update would no doubt fit with the “it’s been way too long” tagline on Apple’s event invite.
As usual, we’ll be live-tweeting the event. Check back with us tomorrow to find out what Apple is up to this time.
