Instagram’s new iOS extension finally lets you share without needing to launch the app

It’s hard to tell from release notes alone, which only mention bug fixes and performance improvements, but Instagram’s version 8.2 update that went live this morning on the App Store packs in a much improved Share sheet extension.

Long overdue, the new extension finally lets you upload photos and videos directly to the service, without needing to open the app at all.

After selecting the Instagram extension in the Share menu of Photos or any other app where sharing photos or videos is supported, a redesigned sheet pops up allowing you to type your caption and hashtags. Then, tap Share to upload the selected media to Instagram and get back to what you were doing.

If you don’t see the Instagram icon in the Share menu, tap More in the Share menu and slide the switch next to Instagram to the ON position.

Before today, choosing Instagram’s extension in iOS’s multi-purpose Share sheet used to launch the app where you had to finish posting.

Of course, accessing other Instagram features such as photo filters and editing tools still requires you to fire up the app itself because Instagram hasn’t yet exposed its filters to iOS—doing so would require a dedicated Photos extension.

The new Instagram extension is available system-wide in any first or third-party app which supports media sharing via iOS’s native Share sheets. It’s two years late, but as they say—better late than never!

Thanks, Z!

Daily Deals: $100 iTunes gift card for $85, $50 off Nest Cam, and more

Hello! Welcome to iDB’s new exploratory ‘Daily Deals’ post. Here you will find a roundup of some of our favorite deals of the day on tech and tech-related products such as smartphones, tablets, accessories, connected devices, and even video games and consoles.

This is an experiment of sorts, born out of our love for tech and discounts. So we’re going to do a little trial run, and see how it goes. If it turns out to be something readers are interested in, we’ll add more products from more websites, and make this a daily thing.

$100 iTunes Gift Card for $85 – Email Delivery

PayPal is offering $100 iTunes Gift Cards for $85 in their eBay store right now. This is a solid 15% discount, and worth grabbing even if there isn’t anything in particular you want to buy right now. I typically buy one and let it sit in my account to pay for things like Netflix and Apple Music. Works on apps, games, movies, books and much more. Email delivery.

You can buy this $100 iTunes Gift Card on eBay for $85 (normal price $100).

Nest 1080p Connected Security Camera

Folks who have been eying the Nest Security Camera are going to love this deal. Target has the connected cam at a rare $50 off right now. The Nest offers 24/7  live video streaming in 1080p HD, night vision, smartphone alerts, two-way communication, and much more.

You can buy the Nest camera at Target for $150 (normal price $200).

Pebble Time Round 20mm Smartwatch

Pebble advertises the Time Round as the “world’s lightest and thinnest smartwatch.” It’s 7.5mm thin and weighs just 28 grams. It also offers activity and sleep tracking with Pebble Health, quick charging — a day of power with just 15 minutes of charging, push notifications for various alerts, and much more. Compatible with both iOS and Android devices.

You can buy the Pebble Time Round smartwatch on Amazon for $150 (normal price $200).

Adonit Jot Pro Fine Point Precision Stylus

Apple Pencil too pricey? Check out the Adonit Jot Pro stylus. It’s super accurate and just a fraction of the price of the Pencil. It has a fine tip for ballpoint-like precision, tip cushions for fluid, quiet writing, and a clip for simple portability. Works with all models of iPhone and iPad, as well as various Android and Windows devices.

You can buy the Adonit Jot Pro stylus on Amazon for $22 (normal price $30).

Philips Hue Smart Lightbulb Starter Kit

Looking to get into the smart lightbulb game? Check out this deal on the Philips Hue starter kit. The pack includes a Hue Bridge and three LED lightbulbs. This is the first-gen model, so it’s not compatible with Apple’s Home Kit, but it does work with Amazon’s Alexa assistant and of course can be controlled by an iPhone or iPad.

You can buy the Philips Hue starter kit on Amazon for $125 (normal price $200).

12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular – 128GB

Looking to score an iPad Pro on the cheap? Check out this deal on a brand new 12.9-inch model. You get the second highest configuration of Apple’s largest and most powerful tablet for hundreds off. This deal comes from Top Rated eBay seller mobilepros1, who has a 98% feedback rating on over 100K transactions. All colors available.

You can buy this 12.9-inch 128GB iPad Pro on eBay for $800 (normal price $1080).

Remember that these are “daily” deals, meaning some of these prices may not be available for long. So don’t hesitate to take advantage of the savings!

Make fliers, catalogs, e-cards and more with Microsoft’s Sprightly for iPhone

Microsoft Sprightly 1.0 for iOS teaser 001
Sprightly, a Microsoft Garage project which launched on Android in February, is now available on iOS. The free app lets you create detailed catalogs, beautiful fliers, multiple price lists, e-cards and discount coupons on the go.

“No need to hire expensive designers to make professional designer quality content for your business or personal uses,” says Microsoft.

Professional templates
With Sprightly, you can organize and share product images with customers.

“The graphic design experts at Sprightly have tackled all your design problems so you don’t have to,” writes Microsoft. “Without any previous experience you can easily create professional looking designs.”

Microsoft Sprightly 1.0 for iOS teaser 002

You can take or import product photos, choose from multiple template options, share on WhatsApp and Facebook and send PDFs to customers. The app will re-size and arrange the images in the most beautiful way possible. Once you import images from the Camera roll, they’ll be available within the app to reuse.
Sprightly’s high-quality pre-designed templates make it easier to create content on the fly without needing to start from scratch.

Microsoft Garage, a skunkworks team that puts out experimental apps and projects, recently released the Hub Keyboard for iPhone.

Pricing and availability
Sprightly requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 9.0 or later. There’s no watchOS 2 component in Sprightly. The app is localized in English, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Apple Pay rumored to be expanding to Switzerland next Monday

After launching in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, China and Singapore, Apple Pay is about to make its debut in Switzerland on Monday, June 13, German-language financial outlet Finews reported this morning.

It will reportedly be supported at launch by Swiss private bank Corner Bank but it’s unclear from the report whether major banks UBS and Credit Suisse will work with the service beginning next Monday.

The rumor-mill thinks Apple Pay will land later this year in Spain, Hong Kong, India, France, Japan, Brazil and elsewhere. Former Netscape executive and currently Vice President of Apple Pay, Jennifer Bailey, said recently that Apple had been “working rapidly” to bring the service to “every significant market”.

The participating banks and store cards that are supported by Apple Pay are listed in Apple’s support document.

Deal: Best Buy is taking up to $200 off Apple Watch ahead of WWDC

I wonder what kind of profits Best Buy is seeing with deep Apple Watch discounts, but here it goes: for a limited time, the electronics retailer is shaving up to $200 off certain Apple Watch models.

The sale is offered on both the entry-level aluminum Apple Watch Sport and the mid-level stainless steel Apple Watch models. Additionally, certain third-party bands are currently available from Best Buy with a savings of anywhere from $4 to $30.

All 38mm and 42mm stainless steel Apple Watch models are $50 off.

The 42mm Apple Watch Sport model with Space Gray Aluminum Case and a Space Gray Sport Band is selling for $299 and the 38mm Apple Watch Sport with Rose Gold Aluminum Case and a Lavender Sport Band is going for $249.

As for the 38mm and 42mm aluminum Apple Watch Sport models, these are currently available from Best Buy with up to a $200 discount, depending on the band.

For instance, the $200 discount is available on the Apple Watch 42mm Stainless Steel Case with the Black Classic Buckle, meaning you can get it for $499 instead of the usual $699. The Apple Watch 42mm Stainless Steel Case with the Pearl Woven Nylon Band is $100 off, selling for $499 from the usual $599.

Back in March, the Cupertino firm brought the Apple Watch Sport from its regular asking price of $349 down to $299—the first discount since its April 2014 debut.

A Best Buy spokeswoman has confirmed that the Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch models that are $50 and $100 off, respectively, will be on sale through June 18. The models that are $200 off will remain on sale through June 25.

Bloomberg: Samsung to launch two fully bendable phones in early-2017

Samsung could release a pair of smartphones early next year capable of bending and folding in half “like a cosmetic compact,” without damage, and one of them should be a five-inch model that could be opened to an eight-inch tablet size, Bloomberg reported this morning, citing unnamed people familiar with the project.

Project Valley
Code-named “Project Valley,” the new phones won’t be marketed under the Galaxy S moniker because the South Korean firm does not see these bendable smartphones as its next-generation flagship devices.

Moxi Group, a Chinese company based in Chongqing, has shown off a bendable phone with black and white screens, said Bloomberg.

Samsung Galaxy Flexi?
The two aforementioned phones would use flexible AMOLED screens.

Samsung has been testing the commercial viability of the technology for two years with its multi-sided Galaxy Edge smartphones. The article speculates that commercializing bendable phones would increase Samsung’s chances of securing orders for these screens from Apple.

“This product could be a game-changer if Samsung successfully comes up with a user interface suitable for bendable screens,” said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities in Seoul.

“Next year is a probable scenario. Their biggest obstacle was related to making transparent plastics and making them durable, which seems resolved by now.”

Samsung may also name the next Note as the “Note 7,” skipping a number in order “to bring it in line with its flagship Galaxy S smartphone range,” one of the sources told Bloomberg.

The future is around the corner
Considering Samsung is said to launch the fully bendable smartphones ahead of Mobile World Congress, which runs from February 27 through March 2, 2017, the South Korean firm hopes to steal some of Apple’s thunder.

Next year, Apple is said to release a tenth-anniversary ‘iPhone 8’ which should switch to AMOLED screens and may even adopt an edge-to-edge, bezel-less appearance that would have the Home button, Touch ID, the front-facing camera and sensors all integrated into the display itself.

Apple posts public betas of iOS 9.3.3 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

After seeding iOS 9.3.3 beta 2 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 beta 2 to the registered members of the Apple Developer Program yesterday, these new betas are now available to public beta testers who are signed on the Apple Beta Software Program.
Public beta testers can apply these updates through the Software Update mechanism on devices enrolled into the Beta program that run a prior iOS/OS X beta.
These new betas don’t provide any new user-facing features as Apple is getting ready to preview the next major versions of its software platforms at WWDC next week.
iOS 9.3.3 beta 2 comes with a build number of “13G21” while OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 beta 2 has a build number “15G12a”. In addition, Apple yesterday also seeded tvOS 9.2.2 beta 2 (build “13Y816”) and watchOS 2.2.2 beta (build “13V601”).
watchOS and tvOS betas are not currently available for public beta testing.

Retro Apple Logo WWDC 2016 wallpapers

Every Sunday, we utilize the Wallpapers of the Week section to highlight great background-worthy pictures and images. Whenever Apple hosts a media event, the Internet lights up with invitation-inspired graphics, that often make excellent wallpapers.

Apple used a retro looking script based invitation for the upcoming WWDC event, leading pundits to assume the event may only contain software updates. Inside you will find wallpapers, for iPhone, iPad, and desktop, that pay homage to the upcoming event.

The Wallpapers of the Week are found around the Internet, on dedicated wallpaper sites, or, most often, via Twitter. Connect with me @jim_gresham to highlight your favorite wallpapers or your own creations. Follow along during the week to grab a few new images in between Sunday afternoons!

Apple WWDC wallpapers

The first set of images highlight a retro Apple logo, recreated by Matt Bonney. Below, we featured the light and dark versions for iPhone (any size), iPad (any size) and desktop (2560 x 1440). If you are looking for other device sizes, even 4K, 5K, and 8K options, you can visit his gallery directly.

Additionally, he provided a full resolution version of the retro graphic so you can make your own! If you do, share your screenshots in the comments below and show them off to Matt on Twitter @bonney.