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Apple News may soon let you access paywalled articles “for cents at a time”

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 5, 2017

A new AdAge report Wednesday asserts Apple could soon enable a brand new micropayment option inside its News app to let readers access articles locked behind a paywall, like those from The Wall Street Journal, “for cents at a time”.

Citing people familiar with the plans, the publication has learned that the Cupertino giant is also coming up with new ways for major publisher partners to sell advertising on their articles encoded in the native Apple News format.

Apple may permit publishers to inject ads in the News app directly from third-party ad networks such as Google's DoubleClick for Publishers. It should help Apple News become more of an extension of the publishers' own websites than the walled-off island it is now.

“There's a ton of scale there but no dollars,” a publishing partner told the publication. “So Apple has to do something soon or publishers will pull out.” The iPhone maker should open new money-making avenues for publishers when iOS 11 launches for public consumption this fall.

Publishers aren't making much money on Apple News because Apple maintains tight control over ad delivery in the News app, which claims a comScore-estimated 47 million monthly users.

iOS 11's News app brings personalized top stories and suggestions from Siri, daily curated stories via a new Spotlight tab and the best videos of the day in your Today view.

Does it make more sense for Apple to allow standard ad serving on Apple News?

Tell is in comments!

Apple shares shot on iPhone short “Détour” by Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Apple yesterday shared a short “Shot on iPhone” film, titled “Détour”, by French Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry who is known for such independent movies as “The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Science of Sleep”.

The eleven-minute video was posted to the Cupertino company's YouTube channels in France and the United Kingdom as part of its focus on producing local video content that can be shared online rather than the more traditional broadcast ads.

The film runs eleven minutes long and features original soundtrack by indie composer Étienne Charry. It follows the adventures of a small tricycle as it sets off along the French roads in search of its young owner, a nice take on the lost-and-found theme.

And here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrN1ytnQ-Tg

Along with the short film, Apple also shared a series behind-the-sccenes videos, seen below.

The clips show Gondry at work, explaining his approach to shooting films on iPhone and detailing some of the equipment used for “Détour”, which includes a multi-iPhone rig, Lightning-compatible microphones, a BeastGrip professional gimbal system and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuDUqqFzELk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPdwbvJCqfY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jYI10yT07c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXgyX6cc5eE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIW5qChZJPg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vInEUWuRq_Q

Gondry won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. The director is scheduled to discuss the film and his career while sharing some of the tips for achieving cinematographic results on Apple's devices in a “Today at Apple” session at Apple March Saint-Germain on June 30.

Watch new iPhone 7 ad: “A Portrait of Canada”

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 30, 2017

Apple's YouTube channel was updated Wednesday with a new commercial in the company's “Shot on iPhone” series. Titled “A Portrait of Canada”, it features words by Humble the Poet plus videos and depth-of-field photographs made possible by iPhone 7 Plus's dual-lens camera.

The photos and videos featured in the ad were snapped by photographer Caitlin Cronenberg and Canadians in locations across the country, ranging from Toronto to the Canadian Rockies.

The ad, according to the description on Apple's Canadian website, was meant to serve as “a portrait of Canada's inclusive spirit shot on iPhone, brought to life by three Canadian artists as well as Canadians across the country.”

And here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpREAlYHiMU

Song: “Suplex (feat. Northern Voice)” by A Tribe Called Red

Canada turns 150 years old next week and Apple is joining the celebrations with a new “Unapologetically Canadian” page on the Canadian App Store.

“Canadians may be famous for saying we’re sorry, but when it comes to building great apps, there’s no need to apologize,” reads the page's description.

“Canada is home to some of the world’s greatest talent, and we’re thrilled to celebrate these inspiring creators as part of Canada’s 150th birthday. Scroll down to explore the list of Canadians’ 150 most-downloaded apps and games of all time.”

How do you like Apple's new ad that celebrates Canada's cultural diversity?

Let us know by posting a comment below.

Gmail will stop scanning your emails for ads personalization

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2017

Google's pledged to stop scanning users' emails in Gmail for personalized ads. The important change, coming later this year, will bring personal Gmail accounts in line with Google's business-focused G Suite Gmail service which does not scan emails for ads personalization.

“Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalization after this change,” Diane Green, Senior Vice President of Google Cloud, announced Friday in a post on the search giant's official blog.

Ads you see across Google properties and on websites that use Google ads are still going to be personalized based on other factors, including users' settings at myaccount.google.com.

“Users can change those settings at any time and disable ads personalization,” Green said.

Gmail is the world’s preeminent email provider with more than a whopping 1.2 billion users.

“G Suite customers and free consumer Gmail users can remain confident that Google will keep privacy and security paramount as we continue to innovate,” reads Green's post.

Google's ad-driven business model is notoriously reliant upon the company's ability to personalize ads to your interests. The company uses many signals and various tracking techniques to collect anonymized data, which is then fed to its machine learning and artificial intelligence systems to derive useful intelligence for ads personalization.

On the flip side, Gmail scanning has been a common point of contention among privacy-minded users who dislike having their Gmail scanned for advertising purposes. Given that more than three million paying companies currently use the paid G Suite service, Google can certainly afford to stop scanning personal Gmail inboxes for ads personalization.

Apple's iCloud Mail service has never scanned the contents of users' inboxes because the entire iCloud suite of apps and services is 100 percent free of advertising, in line with Apple's commitment to protecting the privacy of its users.

New video tutorials from Apple explain how to customize and share Moments

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Apple yesterday published a pair of new videos through its official YouTube channel, covering the Moments feature in Photos which uses machine learning to automatically create themed albums and animated slideshows from your best images and videos.

Running sixteen seconds long each, the two new clips show how to customize and share Memories in the stock Photos app on iPhone. Using iOS's multipurpose Share sheet, users can publish their currently playing Memory Movie to Facebook, Twitter and other services.

And with the ability to choose from many built-in templates and songs, everyone can customize every Memory to their liking, all from within the stock Photos app.

How to customize Memories on iPhone 7

“Customize your Memories movies by choosing from tons of preselected moods and music, right from the Photos app,” reads the video's description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dzv3LCvlJY

How to share Memories on iPhone 7

“Share your favorite Memories movies with friends, family or all of Facebook, right from the Photos app.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-VxQYw8hLk

To watch other tutorials in the series, visit apple.com/iphone/photography-how-to.

Latest iPhone ad is about Memories feature in Photos

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

A new advertisement for iPhone 7 was posted today to Apple's official channel on YouTube along with a new how-to clip.

Titled “The Archives” and running one minute and forty seconds long, it promotes Memories, a new iOS 10 feature in the Photos app which uses machine learning to create animated slideshows, called Memory Movies, based on your best photos and videos.

The Cupertino tech giant also posted a new video in its “How to shoot on iPhone” video tutorial series, showing how to play Memory Movies on iPhone. We've embedded both clips for your viewing pleasure so give them a quick watch before meeting us in comments.

iPhone 7—The Archives

“The Memories tab in the Photos app automatically creates beautiful movies out of the photos and videos in your camera roll in a matter of seconds,” reads the video's description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbpBdMUrqV8

Song: “Her Dreams” by Luca D’Alberto and “Unchained Melody (cover)” by Lykke Li

How to play Memories on iPhone 7

“Play Memories Movies automatically by selecting the Memories tab in the Photos app.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iRACH0kVbo

For other iPhone 7 photography video how-tos, visit apple.com/iphone/photography-how-to.

The Memories feature is getting a boost on iPhone, iPad and Mac with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra—your Memory Movies will be optimized to play in both portrait and landscape orientation and additional memories, such as photos of pets or birthdays, will be available.

New Apple ads highlight 10.5″ iPad Pro’s powerful A10X Fusion chip, improved Apple Pencil

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2017

Apple on Friday released new ads via its official channel on YouTube, a continuation of its ongoing “Real problems…answered” campaign that positions its tablet as a powerful computer.

Titled “A new kind of power” and “The amazing Apple Pencil”, the new videos run sixteen seconds long each and highlight the features of the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro with the thinner side bezels, upgraded display and CPU, Apple Pencil and more.

A new kind of power

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPnooxO6V6k

“You could feel the power of the A10x Fusion chip, if your computer was the new iPad Pro.”

The amazing Apple Pencil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvr3p2_MiNY

“You could write with basically no lag, if your computer was the new iPad Pro.”

The very first ad featuring the 10.5-inch iPad Pro was released on Monday. Like prior “Real problems…answered” ads, the latest ones are based on real tweets from real people.

Yesterday, Apple released a new “Shot on iPhone” commercial, titled “Earth”, based on some powerful narration by the late cosmologist and science popularizer Carl Sagan.

Apple’s latest ‘Shot on iPhone’ ad features powerful narration by famous cosmologist Carl Sagan

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 8, 2017

Apple on Thursday via its official YouTube channel shared a new commercial as part of its ongoing “Shot on iPhone” campaign. Titled “Earth”, the video is narrated by late Carl Sagan who reads a poignant excerpt from his 1994 book.

It's a beautiful tribute to Earth following the US exit from the Paris accord.

The ad aired in front of a big TV audience watching the NBA finals, said AdWeek. The chosen passages from Sagan's book are set to videos of natural landscapes, shot by everyday Apple users on their iPhones.

Here are Sagan’s words, culled from a longer passage in the book:

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is no where else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate.

Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the only home we've ever known.

And here is the spot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpUa7YvhUJo

“Our only home. Shot on iPhone through the lens of everyday users,” says Apple.

The video's description is accompanied by the hashtags #OurOnlyHome and #ShotoniPhone.

As mentioned, the narration is from Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan's book, titled “Pale Blue Dot — A Vision of the Human Future in Space,” available on iBooks Store for $14.99.

How do you like Apple's subtle dig at climate change deniers?

Here come the first ads for Apple’s new iPad Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 19, 2018

With the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro now official, Apple posted a pair of brand new ads on its official YouTube channel as part of its ongoing “Real problems…answered” campaign. Titled “So many things to love” and “A whole new kind of computer,” the videos are running 16 seconds long each and position the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro as a viable alternative to your computer.

With drag-and-drop, a new Files app, an enhanced Dock and other productivity-centric iPad features on iOS 11, plus an improved Apple Pencil hardware and stylus support, your iPad will indeed become more powerful than ever before.

Like before, the new videos are based on real tweets from real people.

“So many things to love”

“You could do everything you love, if your computer was the new iPad Pro.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKk4BUfrYp8

The video is based on this tweet by user @yagirlgeorgie.

“A whole new kind of computer”

“ You could work in a whole new way, if your computer was the new iPad Pro.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wENU092DDc

The clip is based on this tweet by user @ryandrake.

Don't forget to watch other WWDC videos Apple posted today, highlighting its all-new iMac Pro model, a Siri-driven smart speaker, called HomePod, and iOS 11's upcoming productivit-enahncing features on the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model.

Apple shares 3 new ‘Switch to iPhone’ ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 29, 2017

Apple on Monday shared a trio of geeky ads that are part of its new campaign aimed at persuading Android users to make the leap to the iconic smartphone. Published on Apple's official YouTube channel, the new mini-ads, running sixteen seconds each, promote the company's ability to roll out important security fixes fast via iOS software updates.

Apple is also praising the smartphone's smooth, stutter-free performance while highlighting easy contact transfer via the Move to iOS app for those who would gladly switch to an iPhone.

Smooth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQy2heNOhe8

“We design the hardware and the software so your iPhone just works,” says Apple.

Security

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AszkLviSLlg

“Access to the latest updates keeps your iPhone secure,” reads the description.

Contacts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUWLszbCBF8

“Switch to iPhone,” reads the video's description. “The Move to iOS app makes it simple to move your contacts, photos, and more to iPhone.”

The new ads use the tagline “Life’s easier when you switch to iPhone” and direct viewers to the recently revamped ”Switch to iPhone” webpage at apple.com/switch.

Apple's mini-website for switchers now includes useful new sections covering topics like in-house designed iPhone chips, powerful cameras, easy of use, customer support and more.

Do you like Apple's new ads? Do they manage to sell folks on the merits of iPhones, do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Watch new Earth Day video Apple shared at Sustainable Brands conference

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2017

Apple celebrated Earth Day 2017 by announcing a partnership with World Wildlife Fund, promoting environmentally-focused apps on App Store and posting cartoonish videos on YouTube detailing its efforts to preserve our environment for generations to come.

Today, more than a month after Earth Day took place, it shared another Earth Day video on YouTube, titled “Does my iPhone believe in incarnation?” and featuring its recycling robot Liam.

The clip was created to celebrate Apple's attendance at Sustainable Brands 2017, a Detroit conference where Sarah Chandler, Apple's Director of Operations and Environmental Initiatives, discussed Apple's plan to reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDXy5bEG38w “Lisa Jackson, Apple’s lead on Environment work, and our recycling robot Liam will make you believe,” reads the video's description. “Lisa and her team explain it all, while Liam disassembles your iPhone 6 so those parts can find new life.”

Bt taking apart used products, Apple is able to recycle rare earth materials and other valuable metals and send them back to its supply chain for further processing to be eventually reused in the production of components for new products.

According to the video, L.I.A.M. stands for “Liberate. iPhone. Auto-Disassembly. Machine”

Question: why does the video briefly show Tim Cook holding a bunny?

Apple’s new videos aim to lure Android users into switching to iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 22, 2017

Apple on Monday shared five short switcher videos through its official channel on YouTube. Titled “Photos”, “Jump”, “Fast”, “Privacy” and “Music”, each runs sixteen seconds long.

The latest ad campaign uses the new tagline “Life's easier on iPhone”.

The new clips promote some of the benefits of being an iPhone user, ranging from the official “Move to iOS” Android app (available free on Play Store) to the company's in-house designed chips that make iPhone the fastest smartphone in the world in terms of single-core CPU benchmarks to Apple's commitment to privacy and more.

Here are the videos.

Photos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-kbqiLxZwM

“Switch to iPhone. The Move to iOS app makes it simple to move your photos, music and more to iPhone,” reads the video's description.

Jump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmdC2eEeQAI

Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99w8cdTcliA

Fast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IKxOIbRVxs

“iPhone is designed to run fast. Life’s easier when you switch to iPhone.”

Privacy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poxjtpArMGc

“We build iPhone with your privacy in mind. Life's easier when you switch to iPhone.”

Apple also updated its “Switch to iPhone” webpage with a new design and additional information aimed at encouraging Android customers to consider switching to Apple's phone.

The mini-site offers additional information on switching from Android to an iPhone with FAQ-style answers to questions like “Is the camera as good as they say?”, “Why is iPhone so fast?”, “What makes Messages so great?” and “Will I love my iPhone”, among other topics.

How do you like Apple's new switcher videos?