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Apple CEO Tim Cook's interview at D11 is tomorrow, get your liveblog here!
Just a year after Tim Cook sat down for his first non-financial interview as CEO of Apple, the man himself is back for yet another round. He'll be seated in Rancho Palos Verdes, California tomorrow evening at the D11 conference, taking questions from hosts Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, and we'll be liveblogging every moment of it. The interview is taking place with under a fortnight to go until Apple's WWDC, where we're expecting to see details on iOS 7, the Mac lineup and perhaps a glimpse at whatever the company is (presumably) cooking up in the wearables department. The action begins at 6PM PT (9PM ET) tomorrow, so feel free to bookmark this link and return at the time listed below. Tues May 28 06:00:00 PM PDT 2013
The Daily Roundup for 05.01.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Bloomberg: Jony Ive said to be considering 'more dramatic' changes to email and calendar amid iOS 7 overhaul
It's hardly been a secret that Apple's Jony Ive is exploring some more radical changes to iOS since taking the design reins for software in addition to hardware, but Bloomberg is now reporting some new details that paint a better picture of just what's going on in the lead-up to iOS 7. As previously reported, that includes what's sure to be iOS' biggest visual overhaul to date, with a decidedly more flat and minimalist design replacing Apple's current skeuomorphic tendencies. What's more, Bloomberg is also reporting that Ive is exploring "more dramatic changes" to the e-mail and calendar apps, and that he's "methodically" reviewing all the new designs himself to avoid a repeat of the Maps fiasco. Also as previously rumoured, Bloomberg reports that Apple is pulling people from the Mac team to work on iOS in order to get it done in time, and that Ive has been encouraging collaboration between the software and hardware teams -- which, as Bloomberg notes, have previously been operating in separate silos. That all comes as Apple is apparently pushing things closer to the deadline than usual; while Bloomberg reports that iOS 7 is still on track for a release "as soon as September," internal testing dates are reportedly being set later than they have in the past, and the sweeping changes Ive has embarked on are said to have put Apple "at risk of falling behind." Of course, Apple does have one upcoming date that's now set in stone: WWDC on June 10th, when it has already promised to show off new versions of both iOS and OS X. Update: All Things D is now offering its own confirmation of much of what Bloomberg is reporting, and quotes one source who describes iOS 7's new look as "de-glitzed."
3 small UI tweaks Apple should steal from Google and Facebook for iOS 7
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the next release of iOS. Many people expect it to be a major revamp since Jony Ive has taken over software design at Apple. Some (like me) don't expect to see a major redesign in the next release, but incremental improvements -- like the removal of skeuomorphism from some apps. Whatever the case, I hope Apple will consider stealing borrowing these three smal UI tweaks from Facebook and Google iOS apps to make iOS even simpler to use: What: Drag photos (or other elements) down to close them. As found in: Facebook for iOS. How it works: In Facebook for iOS, a user can close a photo by swiping it down. They're then returned to the album view and/or the Newsfeed. Why: Tapping a "Done" button is so 2007. By now, most of the iPhone-using masses are intimately familiar with gestures. They're as natural to us as our own body movements. Any time you can have a simple gesture replace button taps, you should. There are two reasons for this: first, gestures eliminate the need to display buttons on the screen and second, they are generally more intuitive to implement than stretching our thumb to tap a Done button. How it would benefit iOS: Imagine this in the Photos app alone. It would make navigating photo albums much faster. And this wouldn't need to be limited to photos. Any kind of attachment you can tap in Mail or any other app could quickly be brought to to fullscreen and a simple swipe down would return you to the original location of the photo. As screens get bigger (if iPhone's move into the 4-plus-inch category), any gesture that stops you from having to stretch your thumb to reach those Done or Back buttons that get pushed farther and farther away makes for a much better user experience. What: Tap twice and hold, then drag up or down to zoom in and out. As found in: Google Maps for iOS. How it works: In Google Maps for iOS, Google has built in a simple one-fingered gesture that allows a user to zoom in and out using only their thumb. In Apple's Maps (and other apps that allow zooming) the standard zoom gesture is a two-fingered pinch to zoom in or out, and a double-tap to zoom in. While this is great if you're standing still, if you're using Maps while walking down the street, particularly if you're other hand is full, pinch to zoom is generally a pain. That's because generally most people can't do pinch to zoom with one hand. It normally requires the other hand to hold the device. Also, while a double-tap does allow you to zoom in, it doesn't allow you to zoom out (sure, a double-tap with two fingers allows you to zoom out, but that still requires the other hand to hold the phone). Google realized this and came up with an ingenious gesture: in their Maps app, the user can simply double-tap the map then keep their finger on the screen and move it up or down to zoom in or out. Why: Once you discover and use this gesture you realize: this is how zooming should be done. How it would benefit iOS: It makes one-handed zooming in and out easy. Apple doesn't only need to borrow this gesture for their Maps, it can add it to any other app that uses zoom -- like Photos, Safari and more. What: Gradient borders when scrolling. As found in: Google Search. How it works: When you preform an image search in Google Search you're presented with the standard search results: image icons on a white background. However, when you start scrolling down through them, the white background goes through a gradient change to black. Why: Visually, it's more appealing to the eye. The gradient change also makes it easier to pick up individual images. Plus it signals to the user that they have moved the elements on the screen so if they are looking for the the first small thumbnail in the list, they know from the black background that they have scrolled past it. How it would benefit iOS: Unlike the other suggestions, I think this would only benefit apps that use image thumbnails -- namely Photos. However, any visual cues -- even for a single app -- that give users a clue as to what they are doing on a small screen is always beneficial. So those are three of my hopes for iOS 7. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot more I want to see from iOS 7 (like fixing the disastrous way Apple implemented switching between groups in Contacts in iOS 6), but adding the above is a good start. Please use the comment below to give your thoughts on what UI improvements you hope iOS 7 brings.
5 things I want to see from Apple in 2013
2012 was a pretty good year for Apple. It released two versions of the iPad; a totally new iPad mini; a completely redesigned iPhone and iPod touch, as well as iPod nanos; super-thin MacBook Pros with Retina displays; and an incredibly designed new iMac. The company also had a few low-points, namely Maps and some major reshuffling of its executive leadership. However, the end of the year is always a time to look forward, so here are five things I hope we see from Apple in 2013. Admittedly, most of these are relatively minor -- and all are software-based -- but Apple pretty much refreshed every major hardware product in 2012, so I don't expect to see many new designs next year. 1. A redesigned Apple TV interface inspired by iTunes 11 I'm kind of cheating on this one, because I've been told by a trusted source that Apple is already working on an iTunes 11-ish overhaul of the Apple TV interface. Nevertheless, this is something I had been hoping for since I saw the new iTunes 11 UI. Currently the Apple TV has an iOS Springboard homepage interface -- big buttons represent various channels on the Apple TV. While that works fine for the main menu, I'd like to see an improved graphical elements in the submenus. Most submenus now look pretty much like the old Front Row interface: lines of text that lead to more lists. Apple really hit a strong navigation note with iTunes 11's expanded view album/TV series art interface. When/if this does come to the Apple TV it will make navigating your libraries much simpler -- plus it will bring unity between iTunes on your computer and iTunes on your Apple TV. That's all the Apple TV is, essentially -- just another version of iTunes, with a ten-foot UI. A few bonus features for the Apple TV I would like to see: a BBC iPlayer channel and the ability to display the iTunes visualizer while playing music through your Apple TV. The flipping album art display is getting old. Unlike the iTunes 11-esque redesign, I don't have any info about whether or not these are in development. As for why a real Apple television isn't on my list -- I don't think we'll be seeing one in 2013 at all. Maybe in 2014. Maybe. 2. A new iWork for OS X and iOS The last major version of iWork for OS X came out on January 6, 2009. Yeah, in just about a week that will be four years ago. Sure, it's received some minor updates since then like iCloud support and Retina display support, but besides that Apple's office productivity suite has not been updated in four years. Most of us don't have computers that old. iWork for OS X needs improvements. Pages alone has fallen well behind the capabilities of what the latest version of Microsoft Word can do. In the four years since its last release I get more and more errors when importing Word documents into Pages. Pages doesn't even offer Document Map support yet -- a basic feature for anyone who deals with large manuscripts. Numbers and Keynote have fallen behind as well. The iOS version of iWork has received more love, but still its pretty useless if you use it with iCloud. Currently any time I open a more than basic Numbers, Pages, or Keynote document created in OS X on my iOS version of iWork the iOS version tells me it wants to remove any number of important elements. It then gives me a choice to remove these elements and open up the current document or remove the elements and open up a copy of the current document. Choosing either option makes the iCloud sync support useless. I may end up with a crippled original document; otherwise I get multiple copies of that document, where some instances have the elements I want and some are scaled down and have new edits, but lack all the elements of the original. Neither is optimal, and that's why iWork for iOS is virtually useless in most cases. Hopefully 2013 will see an updated iWork for OS X and a functioning version for iOS. 3. A new iLife for OS X There was a time not five years ago when iLife was a major selling point of Apple's. Now, however, as iOS devices are the most important component of Apple's business, it's not as important for the company to keep adding features to its flagship media suite to lure more switchers to the Mac. After all, iPhone and iPads are now the primary driving force behind luring switchers. The last version of iLife came out on October 20, 2010. That's more than two years ago. I'd love to see some of the advances from Final Cut Pro and Aperture (and other digital video and photo editing apps) make it into a new iLife. 4. The fall of skeuomophism in iOS 7 and OS X 10.9 After the Maps debacle, Tim Cook booted Scott Forstall, who was primarily responsible for leading the charge in Apple's mapping solution. With Forstall's exit the primary proponent of skeuomophism in iOS and OS X was gone. Now that Jony Ive is in charge of the look of both operating systems -- and it's rumored he hated the skeuomophic design of some of the apps -- here's hoping iOS 7 and OS X 10.9 see the skeuomophic design jettisoned from Calendar, Address Book, Reminders, Notes, and more. Apple's devices are elegant, and the software on them should look elegant too. 5. The Movie Trailers app for the rest of the world This isn't going to appeal to readers in the US, but for the rest of the world its baffling that Apple has yet to release the Movie Trailers iOS app outside of America. It's Apple's only app -- on any platform -- that is a US-only app. And there's no logic to this. Using Siri I can get movie showtimes on my iPhone and iPad in the UK, so I know Apple is capable of culling that information. Apple also offers its movie trailers website in multiple countries. So why limit its awesome Movie Trailer app to only America? It makes absolutely no sense and here's hoping I can check UK show-times on my app soon (I have the app through my US iTunes account) and that my fellow Brits and Apple users in other countries can soon download the app. Well, that's my hopes for what Apple brings in 2013. Let me know yours in the comments!
