As is true with most past “s” editions on the iPhone, Apple’s newest pocket-friendly device will see some changes on the inside—and not so much the outside. One of the biggest additions is Force Touch, the deep-press tech that lets your finger do more interesting things onscreen, and now we know how it might work.
Technology is filled with all kinds of rumors and speculation — real and fabricated. BitStream collects all those whispers into one place to deliver your morning buzz.
According to 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman, who is a consistent purveyor of accurate Apple rumors, the iPhone 6s’ implementation of Force Touch will be all about shortcuts, letting you spend less time searching and more time using. Here are a few examples summarized from Gurman’s report:
- Use Force Touch in Maps to immediately jump to turn-by-turn directions after looking up a point of interest.
- You can Force Touch in the Music application to add songs to playlists or download for offline viewing.
- Force Touch can be used on the Home screen as well. For example, a deep press on the Phone icon lets you immediately jump to voicemail.
- Force Touch functions seen in the latest MacBooks will also make an appearance so you can Force Touch links for preview of webpages and definitions to highlighted words.
Nice additions? Definitely. Going to give you restless iPhone jealousy with your now old and busted iPhone 6? Not quite. Of course, the rumored iPhone 6s may have some other features that could make it a more worthy successor, including a stronger frame and an improved camera. Luckily, we’re less that one month from learning all the details.
[9to5Mac]
Apple Music’s Innocence: After investigating if Apple was in collusion with record labels over eliminating “free tier” streaming, the EU found no evidence to support such claims. That doesn’t mean Apple is out of the legal woods yet—they’re still dealing with that pesky antitrust probe via the Federal Trade Commission. [Recode]
Free-Tier Streaming May Die a Natural Death: According to Digital Music News, Spotify may be ready to pull the plug on the free part of its “freemium” business model. Several sources spoke with DMN saying that Spotify will become more of a “premium-only” service and that the free version will be much more limited (like one or two songs per album). Looks like it’s time to part with some cash. [Digital Music News]
Rebooting Android One: Google (or is it Alphabet now?) is going to try for Android One, the Sequel, and hope for better results than its original iteration, according to the Financial Times. Android One is Google’s attempt to corner emerging markets with affordable Android-powered smartphones. The perceived problem with the first launch? It was too expensive at $100. Now they’re gunning for a sub-$50 price point. [Financial Times]
The Day of Apple: Mark your calendars because Apple’s next hardware bonanza is coming September 9th, according to Buzzfeed. We’re most likely going to hear about new iPad Minis (like the one leaked below), the ever mysterious and monstrous iPad Pro, Apple TV (both the hardware and the new service), and of course, new iPhones. I’m already starting to mentally prepare. [Buzzfeed]
Here’s the iPad Mini 4 Maybe: (It looks a lot like every iPad Mini ever except skinnier).
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