MacRumors

Ailing consumer electronics brand Polaroid has leant its name to a new motion photo sharing platform called Polaroid Swing which saw its release on the App Store yesterday.

Similar to Live Photos in iOS, the app lets users capture a one-second moment with their device's camera, which can then be shared over social media or in the new platform's Instagram-like social feed.

While its premise is nothing new, the quality of the motion captures is a step above that offered by typical GIF-creation apps, and records moments in 60 frames per second for smooth, crisp playback.

What's also unique to Polaroid Swing is the way users interact with the shots. Tilting the device left rewinds the moment, while angling it right advances the capture relative to the speed of the user's motion.

Floating the mouse cursor over a capture when viewed on a desktop, or sliding a finger over the shot on an iOS device, produces the same effect. Users can also embed Polaroid Swing moments as another way of sharing their experiences.

The app is the result of a partnership between the Polaroid brand and a Silicon Valley tech startup chaired by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

The developer team is comprised of former Apple engineers as well as the creator of Instagram's original filters and logo, Cole Rise.

"Polaroid Swing has the potential to change the way we think about images, just like Twitter's 140 characters changed how we think about words," said Biz Stone in a press release. "People will start seeing the world in one second moments. It's a genre-defining medium."

Polaroid Swing is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Amid all the hype for Pokémon Go this week, one non-game release that's enjoying relatively quiet success in the App Store is a new photo editor called Prisma.

The brainchild of a team of Russian developers, Prisma describes itself simply as an "editor for Instagram", but has attracted far wider attention thanks to an impressive series of stylistic and art-inspired filters.

The app uses a server-side combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence to apply the 33 different filters, which can be changed in intensity using a sliding scale. The results can be immediately shared over Instagram or Facebook, or using the options found in the iOS Share Sheet.

The app is currently available in 25 different countries and has achieved 300,000 downloads each day in 10 of those markets, leading developers scrambling to double their server capacity to process all the information.

Once Prisma's developers have got to grips with the surge in popularity, the team says the app will soon add support for videos and immersive VR.

Prisma is a free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Pokemon Go received its first update earlier today, fixing several bugs players had experienced since the app's release. Some users on Reddit (via The Verge) are now claiming that the update (1.01) includes a game-breaking bug that locks them out of the app.

Users who sign into the app via a Pokemon Trainer Club account rather than a Google account are now unable to access the game and its servers. Dogecoin founder Jackson Palmer debugged the network traffic and found that the app no longer sends an HTTP request when you log in with a Pokemon Trainer Club account. This indicates that the problem is with the app itself, rather than being a server issue.

Currently, the only way for users with Pokemon Trainer Club accounts to bypass the bug is to avoid updating the app to version 1.01. Due to Apple's App Store regulatory policies, it's unclear how long it will take for developer Niantic to deliver a fix.

Since its launch last week, Pokemon Go has quickly become a worldwide phenomenon, sending Nintendo's stock soaring and earning an estimated $1.6 million in daily revenue with approximately 7.5 million downloads in the United States alone.

Pokemon Go is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

A judge in Amsterdam has ruled in favor of a Dutch woman [Google Translate] who sued Apple for refusing to replace her broken iPhone 6 Plus with a new model, and instead offering her a refurbished model as per its standard policy.

The court nullified the purchase agreement and ordered Apple to refund the woman the full €799 that she paid for the iPhone, which was purchased in December 2014 and stopped functioning nine months later in August 2015.

Apple being ordered to refund the purchase price plus interest and pay all of the woman's legal fees was specific to this case, but it is the precedent that could be set in the Netherlands and possibly elsewhere that is more important.

Apple's standard one-year limited warranty and extended AppleCare+ policies for iPhone in both the Netherlands and the U.S., and most other countries, explicitly state that repairs or exchanges may involve devices or parts that are either new or "equivalent to new in performance and reliability," otherwise known as refurbished.

It is common practice for Apple to replace defective iPhones with a refurbished model consisting of both new and recycled parts, and only rarely does the company provide a brand new replacement on a case-by-case situation. The court's decision in Amsterdam, however, could force Apple to change its policies.

The court filing in the Netherlands does not indicate if Apple plans to appeal the decision, but it would not be unprecedented for the company to exhaust all avenues in an effort to overturn the ruling. Apple has not publicly commented on the matter.

In 2011, facing pressure from regulators, Apple revised its warranty replacement policy for iPhones sold in South Korea, offering customers returning their defective phones within the first month of ownership the option of receiving a brand new replacement rather than refurbished units as had been standard policy.

(Thanks, Coen and Jasper!)

Given the intense popularity of the new augmented reality game Pokémon Go, a few retailers have begun facing shortages of the game's $35 wrist-worn accessory, the Pokémon Go Plus, which allows users to receive notifications about nearby Pokémon right on their wrists. Although some players expected the app itself to send push notifications to their phone's lock screen, as it stands the only way to be notified about a Pokémon's appearance is to use Battery Saver mode and leave the app open, or invest in Nintendo's accessory.

That investment will now cost you upwards of hundreds of dollars, unfortunately. At the time of writing, the Pokémon Go Plus is sold out at Amazon, GameStop, and even the official United Kingdom Nintendo Store lists it as "temporarily unavailable." As discovered by IGN, the wearable is still available on the reseller auction site eBay, but the average price is hitting somewhere between $100 and $250 for the official first-party version, and not a copy cat.

Some of the cheapest guaranteed pre-orders on eBay begin at around $140, while a few bidding auctions are currently in action with prices that will probably reach closer to $200. There are also a few Buy it Now options around that price range, with the absolute highest-tiers coming closer to $250. Low level auctions are starting frequently, but given that their start price is already a steep amount, like $60, it's likely they'll also break the $100 barrier.

The Pokémon Go Plus not only vibrates and notifies players of nearby Pokémon via a Bluetooth connection, but it lets them tap a button at the center of the device to throw a Poké Ball, without taking out their smartphone, in attempts to catch the Pokémon lurking nearby. The device was announced alongside the game back in September 2015.

As such, the accessory isn't necessary to the experience of Pokémon Go, but some players might see its addition to their time with the game as majorly beneficial, and perhaps more inclined to a safer experience given the fact that it lets players check in on the game without taking out their phone, although its new resell value is likely to impede more than a few purchases.

Those who have yet to do so can download Pokémon Go from the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Earlier this month a federal appeals court decided that an employee "acted without authorization" after he used a former co-worker's password login without their permission, in order to gain access to a collection of their data. Concerning the case The United States of America v. David Nosal, this has led to a decision by the court to rule that password sharing is a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, meaning that sharing your login among friends and family for accounts like Netflix and HBO Go could now be an illegal act (via TechCrunch).

Judge McKeown, who is close to the case and wrote its opinion, admitted that more innocent forms of password sharing "bears little resemblance" to the circumstances presented in the lawsuit that ignited the ruling. McKeown urged future judges and courts to consider how important "facts and context" are to each case, and craft rulings surrounding password-sharing lawsuits and their legality from there.

While the daily sharing of passwords has yet to be designated as a violation of federal law, some do see the new ruling as a slippery slope to a future where giving a friend your HBO Go login could land you in a heap of trouble. Judge Reinhardt took the dissenting opinion on the case, commenting that while David Nosal may have gotten into "criminal or civil" liabilities while logging into his co-worker's accounts, "he has not violated the CFAA."

This case is about password sharing. People frequently share their passwords, notwithstanding the fact that websites and employers have policies prohibiting it. In my view, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) does not make the millions of people who engage in this ubiquitous, useful, and generally harmless conduct into unwitting federal criminals. Whatever other liability, criminal or civil, Nosal may have incurred in his improper attempt to compete with his former employer, he has not violated the CFAA. — Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

An act so widely perpetrated is far less likely to incur major legal repercussions, even if it does become enacted on more of a wider scale, but there is still a possibility for the federal appeals court's decision to let companies decide on their own whether password sharing should be more strictly reprimanded or not. Comments by Netflix earlier this year at CES suggest the company won't be heading in that direction any time soon, as CEO Reed Hastings saw the expansive sharing of their services as "a positive thing."

Last week, we reported that Google is said to be working on its own branded pair of smartwatches, in a break from its traditional reliance on third-party manufacturers to come up with the hardware for its Android Wear OS.

Given the continuing interest in rival smartwatches of the round-faced variety, some readers may be interested in the latest renders showing what Google's upcoming pair of wearables could look like.

The image above published by Android Police, the site of the original leak, is described as an accurate "recreated image" of primary source material, used to preserve the anonymity of the source. The site also warns that the devices are still under development and therefore may ultimately differ from the design shown.

With those caveats in mind, the larger watch render on the left is based on the 43.5mm "Angelfish", which is said to feature a heart-rate monitor, GPS, and LTE cellular connectivity for standalone use. The watch has three buttons, where third-party Android Wear devices typically have one, suggesting possible Google Assistant integration with contextual alerts. According to the report, the Angelfish will not be compatible with Android Wear Mode watch bands.

The smaller 42mm device, codenamed "Swordfish", offers just the one crown button and is thought to lack the HRM, GPS and LTE smarts of the larger watch, but will be compatible with Android Wear Mode watch bands. The report states that Google avoided Motorola's flat-tyre design issue by adding a thick bezel between the display and ring, making the screen much smaller. Both displays show the customizable watch face of Android Wear 2.0 demoed at Google I/O this year.

Unlike the Google-branded phones which are said to be coming this year, it's not clear when the company plans to release the watches, although they could potentially appear alongside Google's next range of Nexus smartphones slated for 2016, or with the launch of Android Wear 2.0 this fall. There is no word on pricing as yet.

In related news, Fitbit is also said to be testing two new wearable devices, slated to launch this September.

According to tech site Wareable's source close to Fitbit's beta testing team, the company is using atom-themed codenames as internal monikers for the two upcoming devices – the same method used to test both the Alta and Blaze late last year.

"Laryon" and "Fermion" are currently being used in the wild under similarly veiled "black wrist covers" to preserve secrecy. The devices are thought to be successors to the Fitbit Flex and Fitbit Charge after trademark applications for the Mark II devices were recently discovered.

Photos from the ninth annual iPhone Photography Awards have been posted on the IPPA website, offering a look at some of the best photos captured on an iPhone in the past year. As in previous years, the photos depict a range of subjects, from people to landscapes to animals.

This year's grand prize winner was "Man and the Eagle" by Siyuan Niu. The photo depicts a 70-year-old man sharing a moment with his beloved eagle. The photo was shot on an iPhone 5s with a filter from VSCO [Direct Link] and post processing in Snapseed [Direct Link], Niu told Time.

The second winner was Patryk Kuleta's "Modern Cathedrals," which depicts an abstract version of cathedral architecture in Poland. The photo was taken using long-exposure camera apps like AvgCamPro and AvgNiteCam, with post processing in Snapseed and VSCO.

The third winner was "She Bends with the Wind" from Robin Robertis, which depicts a woman in red swaying in the wind during a sunset. The photo was taken on an iPhone 6 and edited with Snapseed and Photoshop Express [Direct Link].

Apple's iPhone 6, iPhone 5s and iPhone 6s continue to be the most popular cameras on Flickr. Apple continues to make upgrading the iPhone camera a priority, and renderings indicate the iPhone 7 could see a larger camera cutout, perhaps to accommodate a larger sensor. The iPhone 7 Plus may also include an exclusive dual-lens camera system.

Photos from all the winners of the 2016 iPhone Photography Awards can be found on the competitions' website. The site is also accepting entries for the 2017 competition.

The success of Pokemon Go has had many real-world ramifications recently, including cautionary tales of car accidents, thieves using the game to stage robberies, and Nintendo's shares jumping 25%, or $7.5 billion, in days. The new augmented reality game is also driving business to local restaurants and bars, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Food and drink sales spiked by about 30 percent compared to a typical weekend, according to [L'Inizio's Pizzar Bar] manager Sean Benedetti. It was part luck—the game chooses which public locations to imbue with special significance in its virtual world—but there was also savvy strategy. Benedetti, 29, spent about $10 on "Lure Modules," an in-game purchase that attracts Pokémon to a specified location. Players soon picked up on the fact that L’inizio’s was well worth visiting. “People are coming out of the woodwork because of this game,” he said.

Pacific Standard co-owner Ryan Kahl told Bloomberg that while the game has increased foot traffic in his Brooklyn-based bar, he hasn't yet seen the traffic translate into business. "We had one guy run to the back because he had a rare Pokemon," he said. "It's been a little weird." However, Kahl said he had not tried to see if using "Lure Modules" would make a difference, noting that he's hoping it gets hot enough that adventuring players need to refuel.

Some businesses have taken to hanging up signs alerting players how it does or does not support the game. Pacific Standard, for example, hung up a sign saying "Pokemon are for paying customers ONLY!", although Kahl says it was a joke. A Dairy Queen in Texas also put up a similar sign. Other businesses, however, have alerted customers to in-store discounts for meeting certain parameters within a game, like using a "Lure Module" or being a part of one of the game's teams.

Other locations, like Internet Archive's Washington office, have found themselves unable to financially take advantage of the attention. Many of the game's gyms are churches or other public establishments, and former churches and establishments can still be crowned as gyms. The group eventually put up a sign letting players know that they were welcome to battle at the gym, but to not disturb their staff, according to Bloomberg. Designer Boon Sheridan, who lives in a former church, has seen his home transformed into a gym.

Nintendo, Niantic and The Pokemon Company plan to make improvements to Pokemon Go, including the ability to trade Pokemon with other players. While business owners indicated to Bloomberg that they'd be interested in working with the companies to promote their businesses through the game, it's unclear if Nintendo is open to that idea.

Pokemon Go is available in the App Store for free [Direct Link] for users in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The game is expected to roll out to the United Kingdom and other countries in the near future after server issues are sorted out.