What I’m Reading

Apple TV has long seemed like a natural fit as a hub for Apple’s smart home ambitions, even before those ambitions were codified in HomeKit . Today, we finally have a good look at exactly how that’s going to work in practice.

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The New York Times on Saturday decided to analyze one particular Apple conspiracy — “every time a new iPhone comes out, my existing iPhone seems to slow down.” 

A simple search on Google Trends, which was charted for us by Statista, shows that people indeed search for “iPhone slow” quite often — particularly around the time of a new iPhone launch. So, it’s definitely a concern amongst iPhone users. 

However, there is no evidence to support the idea that Apple is actually slowing your phone. The Times argues it may be an issue of perception — hearing about your phone getting slower may make you pay more attention to its speed. Another theory says people are more concerned about the release of new mobile operating systems, which might be slower on older hardware. But the data, unfortunately, offers no conclusions — only correlations.

There’s certainly an economic argument for Apple to slow down your phone right as a new model is coming. It would push you to buy a new model. However, it would be horrible for Apple’s brand. Who wants to buy a phone knowing it’s going to be crippled? 

SEE ALSO: CHART OF THE DAY: People Are Looking At Their Twitter Timelines Like Never Before

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BitTorrent (the company, not the popular P2P file transfer protocol) launched a new messaging app today that offers a greater degree of privacy than other popular chat services.

The app, called Bleep, is based on the “principles of BitTorrent technology,” which means it can connect people directly without using centralized servers, according to the company. The app can be used for both voice or text-based conversations. It’s still in the early testing phase, but BitTorrent is inviting others to help them test the alpha version of Bleep to eliminate bugs and refine features.

“Ultimately, this is a chance to help us build an effective and fun tool for a broad array of use cases: from journalists looking to protect their sources to friends looking to chat free from nosy eavesdroppers,” or diplomats engaging in sensitive discussions, the company said in a statement.

Bleep is currently only available for those using Windows 7 and Windows 8, but the BitTorrent team did say support for other platforms would be coming eventually.

The move to launch a chat application seems a bit odd coming from an organization to typically associate with moving around media files, but after hearing BitTorrent’s explanation, we are intrigued, at least. Also, there’s currently lots of activity surrounding secure chat applications — both in general and for mobile devices. Some recent examples would include Secret, Wickr, and YikYak, to name a few.

A new report from the 3rd Annual U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study was released by xAd and Telmetrics which shows today’s mobile shoppers are increasingly receptive to relevant ads. According to the report, nearly 50 percent of mobile shoppers say mobile ads are informative/helpful, up 113 percent from 22 percent in 2013. In addition, 40 percent of those surveyed report clicking on ads and nearly half of those take secondary actions such as viewing the referring website and searching for additional product information. Key Takeaways For Internet Marketers Among the study were several key takeaways for internet marketers. The first is […]

The post Consumers Are More Receptive To Mobile Ads, Study Shows Mobile Ad Engagement Increasing by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Apple is reportedly planning to change some of the policies in its retail stores, especially when it comes to the Genius Bar, according to 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman.

One change involves giving customers more time with Genius Bar employees when they’re in need of assistance.

As the current policy stands, customers can make appointments in 15-minute increments to meet with Genius Bar technicians. However, you need to make separate appointments for each device you’re having an issue with, as Gurman notes.

In the future, Apple will supposedly allow customers to create appointments in varying time durations depending on how many issues they are experiencing.

So, for example, if you have a small issue with your iPhone, you may only need to meet with a Genius Bar representative for 15 minutes. But, if your Mac and your iPhone are both giving you trouble, you may need to book a 30-minute session.  

There’s no timetable for when this policy would be implemented, but Gurman reports that some Apple stores have already begun training for this change. A small scale roll out could happen over the coming weeks or months.

Another more secretive initiative will also come into effect soon. Apple is preparing to train employees on a new effort between August 10 and 28, Gurman’s sources say. This could be tied to training procedures for iPhone 6 in-store activations, but that’s unclear at this time.

In her first memo to Apple employee’s the company’s new retail chief Angela Ahrendts wrote that she wants to “evolve the customer journey online and in our stores,” hinting that there could be some changes in the works. 

SEE ALSO: Here’s What Steve Jobs Did When An Apple Employee Told Him The Apple Store Layout Was All Wrong

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