MacRumors

Former Apple intern Christian Selig has released version 1.4 of Apollo, the popular Reddit client developed with Apple's iOS design guidelines in mind. The latest update introduces a raft of highly requested features, including quick switching accounts and new subreddit preferences to add to its existing plethora of options.

For those who like to access multiple Reddit accounts through the Apollo app, the new quick switching feature can be activated by long-pressing the Accounts tab in the bottom tab bar.

Over on the subreddit option front, it's now possible to use specific sorting, where Apollo can remember preferred sorting preferences on a per subreddit basis.

In Selig's example, if users want one subreddit to always be sorted by "New", but another to always be sorted by "Best", now they can. There are also separate options for both subreddit posts and subreddit comments.

In a similar fashion, it's now possible to have Apollo remember post size preferences on a per subreddit basis, so users could have some subreddits in compact mode and others in large mode.

Elsewhere in 1.4, there's support for Reddit Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiered gifting system (Reddit's replacement for the previous Reddit Gold system) for gifting posts and comments.

In addition, support has been added for more browsers including Firefox Focus, Brave, DuckDuckGo, and iCab Mobile, while users can now opt to have all tweets open in Tweetbot, Twitterrific, or the official Twitter app.

Also of note, Apollo now shows if a comment has been edited, there's a new icon designed by David Lanham, and a bug that was preventing some GIFs from playing has been fixed. Lastly, the Ultra $0.99 monthly in-app purchase now includes all the features of the one-time Pro $2.99 IAP automatically, so Ultra subscribers don't ever have to pay out for more features.

Apollo is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store [Direct Link] as a free download without ads, with optional in-app purchases available to unlock enhanced features such as submitting posts, multiple accounts, a customizable app icon and gestures, Touch ID or Face ID authentication, and GIF scrubbing.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Pad & Quill to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company's high-quality carefully crafted iPad cases made from materials like leather, linen, and wood.

Pad & Quill has multiple iPad case options available, including several cases for the new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.

The Oxford Leather iPad Pro case, priced starting at $114.95, is made from full grain bridle leather in chestnut, whiskey, or black. Designed specifically for the latest iPad models, the Oxford case is a folio-style case that can protect both sides of the iPad when closed. One side of the case attaches to the iPad using a strong 3M adhesive material.

When open, the Oxford case has a built-in horizontal viewing stand and it is able to work with the Smart Keyboard Folio that comes with the iPad Pro, so you don't need to sacrifice your keyboard to use this case. There's a spot for the Apple Pencil 2, an interior pocket for documents, and an elastic strap to keep everything safe when it's closed.

Pad & Quill also has a second folio case for the new iPad Pro models, the Contega Thin. Priced starting at $89.95, the Contega, which is one of the thinnest iPad Pro cases from Pad & Quill, is made from an archival linen in a charcoal or gray color. The Contega, like the Oxford, features a built-in horizontal viewing stand when open and attaches to the back of the iPad with 3M adhesive.

It too is compatible with the Apple Smart Keyboard Folio, so you can use the keyboard with the iPad Pro while still having the protection and benefit of the Contega case, and it features space for the Apple Pencil 2 along with a magnetic sleep/wake feature.

Along with cases for the new iPads, Pad & Quill also makes Oxford, Contega, Contega Thin, Heritage, and Traveler cases for older iPad models such as the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and the 6th-generation iPad, all of which can be viewed on the Pad & Quill website.

If you're in the market for an iPad case, this weekend is a good time to buy from Pad & Quill. The site is having a special sale and event, with 15 percent off every order available with the promo code "Family15."

Pad & Quill is also giving away a free small journal to every customer who is able to find the Pad & Quill mascot, Philbert the Chow, on the P&Q website when placing an order. Mention where Philbert was found on the site and you'll get a small journal with your order at no cost.

For our giveaway, Pad & Quill is providing five iPad cases that MacRumors readers can win. Each winner will be able to choose their favorite iPad case from the site. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (November 30) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on December 7. The winners will be chosen randomly on December 7 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Although HomePod is available in Apple's Home app, the company's smart home speaker as of yet can't be integrated into HomeKit scenes and automations. With such a feature, users would be able to activate their favorite ‌HomeKit‌ scenes, alongside a specific Apple Music playlist, album, or song from their ‌HomePod‌.

Reddit user Running_In_Space on r/HomeKit explained recently that this is actually possible today, thanks to a helpful (and super simple to create) Siri Shortcut. With the Shortcut, you can tie any Home scene together with any ‌Apple Music‌ playlist. While the Shortcut is limited to playlists, you can choose from your own playlists or those created by ‌Apple Music‌.

In the example below, we created a holiday themed ‌Siri‌ Shortcut that turns on Christmas tree lights (connected to an iDevices Switch) and shuffles a holiday playlist any time we say, "Hey ‌Siri‌, Merry Christmas." Also remember that you'll need an ‌Apple Music‌ subscription, HomeKit-enabled lights or other devices of some kind, and the updated ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts iOS app.

How to Create the Siri Shortcut

1. Open the iOS "Shortcuts" app
2. Tap "Create Shortcut"



3. In the search bar, type "Get Playlist" and add it into your Shortcut
4. Next to Playlist, tap "Choose" and pick your desired playlist
5. Search for "Play Music" and add it (here you can also edit settings for shuffling and/or repeating the playlist)
6. Search for "Run Home Scene" and add it
7. Next to Home, tap "Choose" and select your home
8. Next to Scene, tap "Choose" and select your desired scene
9. Before you tap "Done," select the toggle icon under the Done button at the top right corner of the screen



10. Name the Shortcut, and tap "Add to ‌Siri‌" to record your preferred trigger phrase
11. Tap "Done" until you're back on the Library screen of the app

Now you will be able to say, "Hey ‌Siri‌, [Trigger Phrase]" to your ‌HomePod‌ and have the selected Home scene activate along with the chosen ‌Apple Music‌ playlist, connected via AirPlay on your iPhone. ‌Siri‌ typically responds with, "Okay, running your shortcut," and it can take a bit longer than a normal scene activation in ‌HomeKit‌ due to the multiple actions.

There are numerous versions of this ‌Siri‌ Shortcut that could be created, like having a nighttime scene in ‌HomeKit‌ tied to a mellow ‌Apple Music‌ playlist that's triggered when you say, "Hey ‌Siri‌, goodnight." We tried testing out Home scenes that are activated via geofences, but in the few times we tried we could not get ‌HomePod‌ to turn on and play the specified ‌Apple Music‌ playlist when the arriving home scene in ‌HomeKit‌ was activated.

It's also worth noting that the desired ‌Apple Music‌ playlist will play on whatever device you are talking to ‌Siri‌ with, so in our example if we said, "Hey ‌Siri‌, Merry Christmas" and ‌HomePod‌ picked it up, then the holiday playlist played on ‌HomePod‌. If we said the same phrase to our ‌iPhone‌, the playlist would play there instead. In both scenarios, the Christmas tree lights were still activated regardless of the Apple device used.

Apple introduced ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts as an update to its Workflow iOS app back in September, and although creating Shortcuts can be an arduous task in some cases, there are a few super useful actions that have been shared over the past few months. Do you use ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts and have a favorite one to share? Give us the details in the comments below or Tweet us @MacRumors to let us know your most-used Shortcuts.

Instagram today announced the launch of a new Stories feature called "Close Friends" that allows you to share stories with a select group of people rather than all your followers.

Starting today, you can make a close friends list on Stories and share with just the people you've added. Instagram Stories has become the place to express yourself and share everyday moments, but our community has grown and sometimes what you want to share isn't for everyone. With Close Friends, you have the flexibility to share more personal moments with a smaller group that you choose.

The feature works through follower suggestions based on who you interact with most, or via a contact search, from which you can then build the list for sharing Stories with fewer people.

You can find the list by going to your Instagram profile and tapping Close Friends in the side menu. When you go to share a Story, a new option appears to share it with only the people on your close friends list.

It's worth noting that Close Friends is a private list, so other users can't see it in your profile or request to be added to it, so you can switch up your selection at any time without the risk of retaliatory unfriending.

The only indication that your part of someone's Close Friends list is that you'll see a green badge when viewing stories shared to the list. There's also a green ring around the user's profile in the Stories tray.

As TechCrunch notes, the feature plays on the idea of "Finstagrams," or fake Instagram accounts that teens sometimes create to share posts to select friends without having to worry about about being judged by their wider peer group.

This latest addition to the Facebook-owned photo-based social network comes at a time when more and more people are moving from Facebook, which has come in for sustained criticism for its poor user privacy safeguards as well as a perceived lack of effort to protect user data, combat social media addiction, and prevent the spread of fake news.

Close Friends is rolling out globally today on the latest version of the Instagram app for iOS. [Direct Link]

Apple today shared its latest Apple Pay promo, which will provide Apple Pay customers who make a purchase through the Panera Bread app or the Panera Bread website with a $2 credit for a future order.

According to Apple, to get the deal, customers will need to use Apple Pay for an online Panera Bread order through the app or website. The Panera Bread app and the website can be used to order Panera Bread food for either delivery or pick-up.

To get the $2 credit for a future order, customers will need to spend $10 or more, exclusive of taxes and delivery fees. The offer is available from November 29 through December 5, and customers must be members of the MyPanera rewards program to receive the credit.

Apple's latest promo email also highlights Peet's Coffee, Jamba Juice, and Whole Foods, all of which accept Apple Pay.

Apple in October released completely redesigned 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with edge-to-edge displays, no Home button, Face ID for authentication purposes, super fast processors, and slimmer, smaller bodies.

For people who are new to iPad or who are upgrading from an older model, we've compiled a list of some of the best iPad-related tips and tricks that are well worth checking out if you want to get the most out of your tablet. While some of these tips are specific to the iPad Pro, many are relevant to customers who own other iPad models as well.

• Keyboard Flicking - As of iOS 11, Apple has offered a special keyboard feature on the iPad that's designed to let you use a flick gesture to quickly type letters and numbers without having to lift your fingers from the keys. A "flick" is a downward swiping gesture that brings up an alternate keyboard view.
• Text Selection - To quickly select text on an iPad, tap the screen with two fingers and then swipe upwards or downwards to select several paragraphs of text at one time. You can also hold your two fingers on the screen to be more selective with the amount of text that you're highlighting.
• Cursor Adjustment - If you want to change the location of your cursor, you can hold two fingers on the display of the iPad and move them around to adjust where your cursor is located, useful for making quick edits in a document. You can achieve the same effect by holding a finger down on the spacebar.
• External Keyboard Shortcuts - When you're using an external keyboard with the iPad, such as the new Smart Keyboard Folio, there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that are worth knowing. You can use Command + Tab, for example, to switch between open applications, Command + Space to bring up Spotlight search, and you can use the spacebar to scroll through long webpages in Safari. You can see all of the available keyboard commands by holding down the Command key on an external keyboard.
• Spacebar Wake Up - On the 2018 iPad Pro models, if you have an external keyboard attached, you can double tap on the spacebar to wake the iPad up and activate Face ID. This gives you a way to get into the iPad without having to touch the screen.
• Animoji and Memoji - New 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models have Face ID, which means you can use Animoji and Memoji in the Messages and FaceTime apps.
• Apple Pencil 2 Customization - If you want to customize the double tap gesture on your Apple Pencil 2, you can go into the Settings app under Apple Pencil to adjust it.
• Instant Notes - With either the Apple Pencil or the Apple Pencil 2, you can tap the device on the screen of an iPad to wake it up and launch right into the Notes app, which is handy for starting a note right away. You don't even need to unlock the iPad first. Instant Notes can be customized in the Settings app under "Notes."
• USB-C - Apple's new iPad Pro models are the first to use USB-C, which means you can do new things that you couldn't do before. The iPad Pro models can be plugged into a 4K monitor and connected directly to some cameras, drones, and other devices. You can't connect external storage, though, and you can't use the USB-C cable that ships with the iPad to connect to a 4K monitor. You'll need Apple's Thunderbolt 3 cable for that or USB-C to USB-C cable like this one from Belkin.
• Charging Your iPhone - With a USB-C to Lightning cable, which Apple sells for $19, you can plug your iPhone into your iPad Pro, which will allow the tablet to charge the iPhone.

Do you know some other super useful iPad tips and tricks? Share them in the comments below.

Ikea's much-anticipated Trådfri smart outlets are now available for purchase in both the UK and the United States, providing a super affordable soon-to-be HomeKit-compatible smart plug solution for those who want to take advantage of HomeKit without spending a lot of money.

The Trådfri smart plug can be purchased for just $9.99 (or GBP9.99 in the UK), which is much cheaper than other HomeKit-enabled smart plug options on the market.

Unfortunately, while HomeKit support is in the works for the Trådfri smart plug, it isn't available just yet. An Ikea employee on the Trådfri team said yesterday on Reddit that HomeKit integration wasn't able to be implemented ahead of when the smart plug was released.

HomeKit support is in the works, however, and in the meantime, the smart plug can be controlled via the Trådfri app.

Using the Trådfri smart plug requires the $30 Trådfri Gateway. The Gateway is needed for all of Ikea's affordable smart home solutions, including light bulbs, dimmers, motion sensors, and more.

There's no word on when HomeKit support will be available for the Trådfri smart plug, but HomeKit was added for Trådfri smart lights connected to the gateway late last year. When HomeKit is available for the smart plug, the Trådfri system will be one of the cheapest ways to get a complete set of HomeKit products even with the expense and inconvenience of a hub.

The Trådfri smart plug was spotted on the Ikea website back in early October, but as Pocket-lint points out, it did not become available for purchase until recently.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the third tvOS 12.1.1 beta and a month after releasing tvOS 12.1.

The new tvOS 12.1.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. Subsequent betas can be downloaded over-the-air.

We're not yet sure what fixes and changes the tvOS 12.1.1 update might bring, but it's likely to focus on bugs that were not able to be addressed in the tvOS 12.1 update.

Apple provides little information on its tvOS software and tvOS updates have historically been minor in scale, so we may not know what's included in this update. Despite the lack of info Apple offers, we continue to share updates on tvOS beta releases so that developers and public beta testers are aware when new content is available to download.

Nothing new was discovered in the first three tvOS 12.1.1 betas, but we'll update this post if any new features are found in the fourth beta.

Update: Apple has also made a new beta of tvOS 12.1.1 available to public beta testers.