What you need to know

Day One now supports templates.
Some are already provided for you.
But you can create your own, too.
Templates, encryption, and more!

If you journal using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac the chances are good that you use Day One. It’s one of the most popular apps on the App Store and it just keeps on getting better, with version 4.2 bringing templates and more to the table.

There are a few things going on in this update but without doubt the biggest of the changes is templates. As the team at Day One points out, sometimes a blank page is great for throwing thoughts onto. But sometimes you need a little more structure, too.

The blank page is a powerful thing, especially when that blank page is in your own, private journal. It’s a canvas of opportunity, full of infinite possibilities. But often times a blank page isn’t what you need. Sometimes you want a little structure and direction to guide you. Which is why we’re thrilled to announce that templates have officia…

Our friends at Pad and Quill are always hard at work creating premium leather goods that are unrivaled in quality and style. To celebrate the new iPhone 11 and Apple Watch announcements from last week, we’re teaming up to give away some amazing products that we know you will love as much as we do! Keep reading for more details and to enter.

First up, Pad & Quill has redesigned their Bella Fino cases for the new iPhone line.  Utilizing the exact leather from all their leather bags the Bella Fino Edition now includes removable elastic strap to wrap all your essentials together. Customize your case with an assortment of colors to make it yours! The Bella Fino Edition comes with a 25 year leather warranty.

Next, the Lowry Cuff Edition, where P&Q has taken the most popular Apple Watch band they’ve ever made and improved it further. The Cuff Edition is more durable, more striking and truly a work of art.  New colors include Whiskey and Black.

Also for the Apple Watch, …

A great set of speakers can turn your Mac from a squeaking mouse to a roaring lion. While super simple to install, external speakers can make your favorite movies, music, video games, podcasts, and more come to life. But which Mac speakers should you get? I’ve rounded up some of my favorites, so strap yourself in, hold onto your hats, and ride the waves!

Affordable Bose sound

Bose Companion 2 Series III

Staff Favorite

The Bose Companion 2 Series III gives you the classic, well-balanced sound you would expect from Bose speakers for an affordable price. The low-end tones are warm and consistent and never seem to fight with the high-end sounds. Much like Bose’s other computer speakers, the Companion 2 is meant to be simple in every way. Controlled by a single volume knob on the front of the right speaker, it’s effortless to set up and start using. Plus, they are quite small and compact, making them perfect for tight spaces.

$99 at Amazon

Stylish and balanced

Bose Companion 20

…

The move is designed to attract Hollywood to Apple’s latest service.

What you need to know

Apple is looking into plans to screen TV+ movies in theaters prior to release on streaming.
The move is designed to attract Hollywood directors and producers.
Apple approached J.J. Abrams over bringing his content to TV+, but was turned down.
A Wall Street Journal exclusive published today suggests that Apple is looking into plans to screen Apple TV+ movies in theaters prior to their release on its new streaming service.

According to people familiar with the plans, Apple has approached several cinema chains and is in consulation with former iMax head of entertainment Greg Foster on the subject. It would appear from reports that Apple may be seeking to have its Apple TV+ exclusives streamed for several weeks prior to their launch on Apple TV+. The move would first of all allow its films to qualify for awards, WSJ claims that Apple is in talks to have its first documentary ”The Elephant Queen”…

What you need to know

New EU rules will require 30% of content be from Europe.
Apple TV+ currently has no European content.
Talks are already underway to rectify that.
Content is king. But it needs to be from the right continent.

Apple TV+ won’t be here for another month but it’s already hunting for new shows. This time it needs European shows in order to meet new rules introduced by the European Commission.

While those rules haven’t been finalized yet they’re expected to come into force towards the end of 2020. If things go as expected, content streamers will need to offer shows produced in Europe to the tune of at least 30% of its catalog. It’s not clear yet quite how that 30% will be measured, but it’s expected to be a concern for both Apple TV+ and Disney+.

While Variety notes that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are already close to the 30% mark, that isn’t the case for Apple TV+ or Disney+. The former doesn’t have any European shows on its books as yet, although negotiations…

Armed with special move Psystrike…

What you need to know

Genetic Pokémon Mewtwo is returning to Pokémon GO.
There will be a special Legendary Raid Hour on October 8.
The raid will last from 6pm to 7pm local time.
Pokémon GO has today announced via Twitter that Genetic Pokémon Mewtwo will be returning to Pokemon GO.

Trainers! The Genetic Pokémon Mewtwo will return to Raids with the special move Psystrike. Mark your calendars for a special makeup Legendary Raid Hour on October 8, 2019 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time! pic.twitter.com/qPL1KPioh9— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) September 27, 2019

The Legendary Raid Hour wil take place on October 8, between 6pm and 7pm local time. The new comes in wake of outcry yesterday, after it was revealed that there had been a large reduction in cluster spawns and an overhaul of some spawning locations in general. Many users on Reddit reported seeing a marked decreased of Pokémon, Niantic is …

What you need to know

Instapaper has been updated with Dark Mode support.
The existing Tweet Shot feature has been revamped, too.
The update is available for free from the App Store.
Instapaper is an instant download if you can’t read things instantly.

Following the recent release of iOS 13 developers have been steadily releasing app updates to add support for various new features. One of those is Dark Mode, and now Instapaper is the latest to be updated to take advantage of it.

Instapaper is available for both iPhone and iPad and has been around for as long as the App Store. Saving webpages for offline reading has always been its forte, and now you can do it in a lovely shade of black.

Today we launched Instapaper 7.8 for iOS 13. In the new version, dark mode will automatically turn on when you enable dark mode at the system level through iOS Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark mode. Disabling dark mode will return Instapaper to your non-dark mode theme. If you s…

Colgate Connect gets an overhaul for iOS 13…

What you need to know

Colgate Connect has been updated for iOS 13.
Features a UI overhaul and HealthKit integration.
Track your brushing on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Colgate Connect, the companion app for Colgate’s Smart Electronic Toothbrush E1, has been updated for iOS 13. The update, released September 26 provides a new user interface for iOS 13. Perhaps more excitingly, Colgate Connect can now comes with HealthKit integration. This means it can be tracked in the Health app along with all of your other health metrics. If you go to the Health app on your iPhone, tap ”Browse” and then select ”Other Data” you’ll find a category for ”Toothbrushing”. Minutes can be entered manually or tracked automatically with a Bluetooth-enable toothbrush, like the E1!.

The Colgate Connect E1 uses Smart sensors to track every tooth in your mouth as you brush so you know where you have (and haven’t) brushed. It also gives you feedback on how to imp…

What you need to know

DoBox Pro is currently available on Kickstarter.
It has a keyboard, trackpad, and ports.
It turns an iPad Pro into an iPadOS notebook.
This might be the dock you were waiting for.

DoBox Pro is an iPad Pro dock that turns the tablet into a fully fledged notebook complete with a trackpad and keyboard. Oh, and it has a few ports on offer, too. The only downside is you’ll need to deal with Kickstarter in order to get one.

DoBox, the maker of DoBox Pro, says that it expects to ship the dock around February 2020 but if you want one you’ll need to drop $199 right now. That’s a lot, and the prospect of waiting four months for the product to arrive doesn’t fill us with joy. But it might just be worth the wait.

The reasons for that are many. First, there’s a built-in keyboard along with a trackpad sat atop a 16,000 mAh battery. That makes this thing super portable in terms of power – you won’t need to charge your iPad Pro because of that extra battery.

And …

Apple’s Swift programming language is slowly taking over iOS…

What you need to know

Use of Swift has doubled in iOS 13 compared to 12.
There are 141 binaries using Swift in iOS 13, up from 66 in iOS 12.
Swift was originally announced at WWDC 2014, 5 years ago.
Use of Apple’s programming language Swift has vastly increased in the latest version of iOS. In iOS 13, Apple’s use of Swift has more than doubled compared to iOS 12.

The programming language was originally announced at WWDC in 2014. It can be used by developers to create apps in macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS and more. Of course, it’s also used by Apple inside of Apple software, and the first Swift-based iOS app was Calculator in iOS 9, back in 2015.

In this year’s software, there are 141 binaries that contain Swift. This doesn’t necessarily mean that an entire app is based on Swift, and it could be as little of one line of code that contains the language.

The research was carried out by blogger Timac and picked up via 9to5…