Apple

iOS 9 now powering 61 percent of devices

Apple's latest iOS 9 mobile operating system is now powering a total of 61 percent of active iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices in the wild, according to Apple's official numbers published on its portal for developers.

By comparison iOS 9 was found on 57 percent of devices just two short weeks ago. The latest data point was calculated by monitoring  App Store access on October 19, 2015.

Misfit Shine 2 unveiled with improved activity and sleep tracking, longer Bluetooth range and more

Misfit, the maker of sleek wearable devices, yesterday unveiled a second-generation Shine activity and fitness tracker and sleep monitor.

The Shine 2, as it's called, improves upon the original Misfit, which debuted more than two years ago, with more accurate fitness and sleep tracking capabilities.

The accessory sports enhanced touch responsiveness with capacitive sensing technology, longer Bluetooth range, inactivity alerts, multicolor LEDs built into the face of the device and much more.

Apple opposes proposed Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act

Apple on Tuesday provided a statement to The Washington Post, voicing its opposition to the proposed CISA bill. The legislation, which spelled out reads the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, is expected to be voted on by the Senate within the next few days.

"We don't support the current CISA proposal," Apple told The Post, reiterating its position on the privacy and trust of iOS and Mac users. "The trust of our customers means everything to us and we don't believe security should come at the expense of their privacy."

Jony Ive talks growing relationship between tech and fashion

Ahead of next year's Apple-sponsored Met Gala, Jony Ive sat down with The Wall Street Journal to talk about the growing relationship between tech and fashion. Ive will be co-hosting the Gala in May, along with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Winter, actor Idris Elba and pop star Taylor Swift.

The red-carpet event is New York's biggest fashion function of the year, and the main exhibit of 2016 will be "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology." The message is that beautiful designs can result from both craftsmanship and automation, whether created by hand or machine.

Facebook rolls out Instant Articles to all iOS users

After rolling out Instant Articles to a tiny subset of its 1.3 billion active user base back in May of this year, the social networking leader Facebook today said these quick-loading articles are available to all users of its mobile application for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Thousands of Instant Articles, each denoted with a lightning bolt in the top right corner of the News Feed story, will be available at launch and more will be added on a regular basis. Facebook claims Instant Articles load up to ten times faster than a standard mobile web article.

Check out One A9, HTC’s $399 iPhone lookalike

Taiwan's embattled handset maker HTC today introduced a new phone, called One A9. The $399 Android Marshmallow device was “inspired by nature,” as HTC puts it, but technology blogs were quick to point out its striking resemblance to Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s smartphone series.

The A9 One is just 0.1mm thicker than the iPhone 6s, which measures in at 7.1mm.

The One A9 fits a five-inch 1080p AMOLED edge-to-edge screen protected by Corning's 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 inside an enclosure that falls somewhere between the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6/6s.

Apple TV gains CBS All Access, NBC and M2M

Ahead of next week's launch of a much-improved fourth-generation Apple TV, a trio of new content sources were added to the existing third-generation set-top boxes on Tuesday: CBS All Access, NBC and Made To Measure (M2M).

As first reported by MacRumors, the inclusion of CBS All Access marks the first time the network has provided a channel on the Apple TV aside from the dedicated NBC Sports and NBC News channels.

Activision launches Guitar Hero Live for iOS with optional wireless guitar controller bundles

Publisher Activision today announced immediate availability of a new iPhone iPod touch and iPad game, called Guitar Hero Live. It includes two free of charge trial songs, with hundreds more available when you purchase a controller bundle.

The game is available in the United States starting today and will be launching in Europe this coming Friday, October 23, with an Apple TV version releasing later this year.

An optional $99 bundle is available from major retailers around the country with an AA batteries-powered Bluetooth Low Energy guitar controller along with guitar strap and included redeem code. A two-guitar bundle is $149.99.

Cook on how new Apple TV will fix a ‘terrible, broken’ process of watching television

Apple's fourth-generation set-top box, the $149 Apple TV, is launching next week and it won't be just a hardware upgrade. For the first time since the Apple TV's 2007 debut Apple is providing a software platform to enable third-party experiences on your big screen TV.

Discussing the sad state of the television industry and talking about how Apple can improve a “terrible, broken” process of watching television during the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.D Live conference in Laguna Beach, California last night, Cook said that Apple's new tvOS platform represents a “foundation” for the kinds of experiences his company aims to deliver to consumers.

Apple CEO predicts ‘massive change’ coming to autonomous driving

Apple CEO Tim Cook is one of the few people in the technology industry who have an uncanny insight into the future of technology so little wonder his vague hints at his company's next moves are being carefully scrutinized by pundits and examined for meaning.

When it comes to the automobile industry, Cook has once again deflected iCar-related questions, refusing to acknowledge the existence of the company's rumored electric car, dubbed Project Titan.

That, however, didn't stop him from teasing that the car industry is at an “inflection point for massive change” during his interview last night at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.D Live conference in Laguna Beach, California.

Cook: Apple Watch sales accelerating, new health features in development

Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed a variety of topics at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.D Live conference last night in Laguna Beach, California, including confirming pre-sales for the new Apple TV next Monday and revealing that Apple Music currently has 6.5 million paid customers.

And while Cook was mum on Apple Watch sales—”We don't want to give information to competitors,” he said—he did allude to additional health-related functions coming to Apple's wearable platform in the future.