The Weeknd blows up VMAs with trippy Apple Music ads.

The Weeknd’s performance of “I Can’t Feel My Face” at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards was so hot, even Kanye got up to dance to the song of summer. The singer didn’t go home with a moon man last night but Apple Music debuted a two-part ad that features John Travolta and a trippy club scene.

Watch both ads below:

Part 1:

Apple Music has played songs by The Weeknd more than any other artist this summer. His newest album, Beauty Behind the Madness, was released August 28 and is available for streaming on Apple Music.

Part 2:

Apple TV catches Game Pass service featuring live preseason football games on updated NFL app.

Apple TV users may notice a new coat of paint on the NFL app today. That’s because the set-top box’s NFL channel has received a major update that adds the new Game Pass feature for football fans. We first learned last month that the NFL’s Game Pass service was headed to Apple TV.

Game Pass on Apple TV currently offers up both live and on demand preseason football games both in full and condensed versions for subscribers, plus highlights from each game that anyone can view for free. Game Pass also boasts featuring every NFL game since 2012 in HD without commercials including the last Super Bowl. Beyond 2012, Game Pass includes footage dating back to 2009.

Subscribing to Game Pass through Apple TV costs $99.99 with a subscription running through July 31st of next year. Aside from being able to view preseason games out of market, Game Pass offers up “all 256 regular season games on-demand” across various platforms. While it still doesn’t offer up live gameplay for regular season games, a subscription does include access to gameday audio. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the new feature highlighted next week as Apple unveils an updated Apple TV box on September 9th.

September 9 event wallpapers: “Hey Siri, give us a hint”

On Thursday, August 27, Apple released the media invitation for an event on September 9. The fall announcements typically highlight updates for iOS devices. Sometimes iPhone and iPad are announced separately, but it is estimated both devices will receive a refresh in the coming weeks.

In line with new invitations, the web quickly rushes to build corresponding, celebratory wallpapers. Inside, we have some quick work done by avid iDB readers. Within hours, they shared their collections and we pass them on to you.

Wallpapers

full white (center); half opacity (left); full opacity (right)

iPad (left); desktop (5K)

iPhone (right); matching iPad (not pictured)

The popSLATE Is a Second Screen for Your iPhone.

The popSLATE case is a second screen for your iPhone. Use it for grocery lists, gym schedule, workout routines, or to display your favorite pictures. When the folks at popSLATE sent over the case a few weeks ago, I had no idea how useful I would find it! I’ve found a ton of uses for it, and I’m finding more every day.

The popSLATE iPhone 6 case ($129) connects to your phone via Bluetooth and gives you a second screen (black and white–like a Kindle) to display important information like boarding passes, grocery lists, and other things you’ll need to refer to quickly or often. Because the information is on the back of your phone, you won’t be turning your phone on and off, searching for different apps, or scrolling through your photo albums for images that you need. Here’s how I’ve been using it.

• Grocery List: I’m always getting distracted when I grocery shop because I use an app on my phone for my list. When someone texts, or a notification comes in, I usually pop over to see what it’s about, causing me to waste time attempting to multitask. Using the popSLATE case as my grocery list, I keep my phone face down in the cart and stay on task.
• Gym Classes: During the week, I switch my popSLATE to show my gym’s schedule so I can glance and view their schedule at a moment’s notice—no excuses for missing!
• Boarding Pass: Saving my boarding pass as my popSLATE image allows it to be quickly accessed and scanned by security agents.
• Workout Routines: I love saving my workout routine so I can stay focused while lifting weights and not drain my battery by repeatedly waking my phone up to look.

Here’s how the popSLATE works:

1. Connect your phone to the popSLATE via Bluetooth.

2. Using the popSLATE app, browse other user’s images or upload your own.

3. Find the image you’d like shown on your popSLATE second screen and tap “pop.” Your image is immediately sent to the popSLATE screen.

The slideshow feature allows for eight images to be stored on the popSLATE device and then cycled through using the small button on the side, no connection needed. By going into the app under Me and then under Slate you can choose to clear all image on that are saved on your popSLATE, and save eight more

Pros: 

• So many uses!
• Sleek two-piece design
• Easy access to charging and headphone ports
• I love the quick change slideshow button

Cons:

• Case isn’t as protective as I’d like. I’d love to see a silicone inner layer or more screen protection.
• Sometimes there is a “ghost” image on the screen of the image before. I find that choosing a dark image and then replacing it with the image you’d like will clear that up—it’s not a huge deal to me.

The Final Verdict:

I love it! I’m buying one for my husband for Christmas this year, and am finding more and more uses for the popSLATE as time goes on.

Tweaks of the week: FutureLock, MusicScroller, SimpleReach, and more.

Another interesting week for the jailbreak community. Despite the reports of thousands of iCloud account being compromised by some shady jailbreak tweaks installed from some shady repos you’ve probably never heard of, we’ve seen some good tweaks being released in Cydia.

In case you don’t want to scroll through dozens and dozens of packages, we round up all the new jailbreak tweaks that appeared this week on Cydia.

BootLogoCustomizer: changes the color of your boot logo ($1 )

Bragi: redesigned music controls for Control Center and Reachability ($1)

CCMore: adds more features to Control Center ($1.99)

Docker: doubles the capacity of your iPhone’s dock ($1.99)

Fast Freeze: an Activator action that freezes running apps in memory ($1)

FullResShare: allows you to attache full resolution album artworks for shared songs (free)

FutureLock: drastically enhances the Lock screen with various features ($2.50)

GrabKiller: lets you tap the Control Center grabber to kill all apps in the switcher (free)

Mezode: changes the Messages top bar color to the type of message you’re sending (free)

MusicScroller: adds a pop-up alphabet indicator to the Music app (free)

MusicTransport: sends music or sound effects over phone calls ($2.99)

NoUpdateAll: removes the Update All button in the App Store app (free)

PowerColor: brings custom color gradients to the iOS battery indicator (free)

PulseVolumeAlert: makes a vibration when you listen to music with headphones too loud (free)

QuickSwipe: lets you swipe to dismiss videos in Safari (free)

Rotary Lock: a combination lock for the Lock screen ($0.99)

Sentinel: an extension that gives you more control about numbers you block ($2.99)

SimpleReach: makes Reachability better ($0.99)

SmartClose: puts your app in deep freeze without unloading them (free)

TranslateMe: translate text with ActionMenu (free)

WGradRemover: gets rid of the wallpaper gradient overlay shadow (free)

Apple TV 4 coming in October for under $200, Apple TV 3 stays & gets new streaming service.

With the official debut of the next-generation Apple TV less than two weeks away, sources have provided additional details on Apple’s pricing, availability, and product lineup plans for its set-top devices. According to sources, the fourth-generation Apple TV will be priced below $200, and is on track to become available in October. Apple executives are apparently still finalizing the price of the revamped living room device, but the latest options call for a starting price point of either $149 or $199, both higher than the third-generation Apple TV…

The new Apple TV will come at a premium price compared with the current model, which was originally priced at $99 from its launch in 2012, then was reduced to $69 this March. As the new box will be considerably more expensive than popular alternatives from Roku, Google and Amazon, Apple plans to keep the $69 third-generation device for sale as an entry level model within the Apple TV product line. The new Apple TV 4 will be very similar to the current model in appearance, but it will be thicker and slightly wider, sources say.

Apple’s next-generation Apple TV will include a number of new features to differentiate itself from the older version, including Siri support, a new remote control, an App Store with a Software Development Kit for developers, and a refreshed user interface. As soon as next year, Apple plans to release a cable-replacing streaming TV service that bundles multiple television channels for a price as low as $40 per month, but the new Apple TV will initially still require logins to cable networks to unlock content.

According to our sources, the software update that enables Apple’s cable-replacement service is currently planned to also become available for the third-generation Apple TV. However, the current model will not receive support for the upcoming App Store, nor will it be directly controllable by Siri. We will have more details on the new Apple TV’s gaming, Siri, and remote control functionality in the coming days.

Apple also plans to introduce the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus at its September 9th event. As we have reported, the new smartphones will include Force Touch-capable displays, a new Rose Gold color option, 12 megapixel cameras with 4K videorecording support, more efficient wireless chips from Qualcomm, faster A9 processors with double the RAM and better battery life, and improved front-facing cameras for FaceTime. Apple, however, will not be introducing a new 4-inch “iPhone 6c.”

Ex-Apple engineer wants you to think different about furniture.

Here’s good news for anyone who has had to carry a heavy couch up or down several flights of stairs and/or through narrow doorways: You can now pre-order a sofa that will fit into easily portable boxes.

This is Campaign furniture, and the company’s head is Brad Sewell, a former supply base engineer for Apple who worked with the iPod and iPhone manufacturing design team and clearly picked up a few tips while he was there. And right away, the company is taking on the big names in affordable home furniture.

“IKEA leaves much to be desired in terms of an assembly experience,” Sewell said (via Entrepreneur). “If you do the cost analysis, the shipping and your time would make that piece way more than it’s going for.”

Campaign launched its site this week. So far, you can order a chair, a loveseat, or a couch, but the company plans to expand beyond the living room in the future with bedroom sets and outdoor furniture, Entrepreneur reports.

For $95, you can claim a piece in one of five colors, and the first units are set to ship in November. The final prices will be $495 for the chair, $745 for the loveseat, and $995 for the sofa, which places them at a bit higher price point than comparable furniture from Ikea, but it will reportedly include shipping costs.

Campaign’s definitely making an interesting proposition here, and I’m all in favor of anything that makes moving easier. Especially if it keeps crap like this from happening.

The Premium One W2 dual dock is a perfect Apple Watch + iPhone companion.

Today we’re taking a look at what might be the best Apple Watch dock in the business. If you’re tired of just plopping your iPhone or Apple Watch on a table at night, this is a much better alternative. Meet Enblue Technology’s Premium One W2 dual dock and charging stand. Quite possibly one of the longest accessory names I’ve heard, but I’ll easily forgive that for the functionality it brings along…

If you’re thinking this looks familiar, it’s because my colleague Jeremy reviewed a different model a while back, which you can find here. This dock is awesome. There are no cables to mess with really and everything is clean and presentable. On the left side you’ll find a vertical riser for the Apple Watch, while the right side has a built-in Lightning connector and stand for any compatible iPhone. While the Lighting cable is integrated into the W2 dock, you’ll still need to bring-your-own Apple Watch cable.

The good news is, everything fits together seamlessly and no cables are visible from the sides or front of the dock. It’s quite beautiful. It’s made from aluminum and carries over that classy Apple look and feel. Check out our review video below for a closer look:

With the W2, you’ll get a multi-port charging block that can be used to feed power through the integrated Lightning cable and Apple Watch cable, as well as another extra port for whatever you may need. The cabling runs throughout the body of the dock and out the back end with no visible doors or lines that hint to the cable location.

There’s a small hidden door on the inside of the vertical dock, but other than that the design is flawless. The bottom also features a couple of micro-suction pads to keep it sturdy on your desk. It’s a dock, so there’s obviously not much to say about it, but it’s one of the best dual device docks I’ve used.

Ready for the downside? Well, it’ll set you back around $115, which I find to be a bit on the expensive side. Though, it’s build quality definitely feels on point with the price. It’s available in a few different colors and there are actually a couple of additional modelsthat will dock more/less devices depending on your situation.

Overall, I find it to be an outstanding dock and would definitely recommend it, but the price point may scare a few people away. I can’t hate this thing. It provides everything I need in a neat package and keeps my nightstand cable- and clutter-free. It’s without a doubt, my favorite dock. For an in-depth look at this dock, check out our review video embedded above.

How to purge your obsolete Apple Watch alarms.

We love how easy it is to set up an alarm from the Apple Watch. All you have to do is say, “Hey Siri, wake me up at 7 a.m.,” and the digital assistant will put that order in for you.

But this comes a slight inconvenience: What happens to alarms after you’re done using them? Well, if you’re like me, you just turn them off to stop the horrendous buzzing on your wrist and then forget about them. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here’s how to clear off all of those old, unused alarms with a quickness.

Option 1: The old-fashioned way

First, you can do it all through the Alarm Clock app on the Apple Watch. From the clock face, hit the digital crown to exit out to your app menu and tap on the alarm clock. This will bring up a list of every alarm you have set. And if you use your Apple Watch for these as needed like I do, try not to be too shocked about how many are sitting in there. And also try not to remember why you ever needed an alarm to go off at such random times.

Tap the alarm you want to clear; that will take you to the Edit screen. Down at the bottom, you can hit Delete, and that will clear it. Now, all you have to do is repeat that for every alarm in your Apple Watch, and you’ll be done.

Option 2: Just ask your Apple Watch

But here’s the real tip: You don’t have to do that. Instead, try activating Siri by holding down the digital crown for a few seconds or just saying, “Hey, Siri” while your watch is awake. Once the assistant is listening, say, “Clear all alarms.”

Siri will give you a confirmation screen asking if you’re sure, and if you say yes, your Apple Watch will delete every alarm inside of it almost instantly.

And then you can go back to the important work of filling it back up again.

New packaging leak suggests 16 GB base model will stay around for another product cycle.

A purported photo of an iPhone 6S information sheet has surfaced detailing the specifications of the upcoming iPhone, due to be announced at an event on September 9th. Whilst the detailed technical specifications do not reveal anything new, the page header is intriguing. It suggests that, once again, Apple will offer a 16 GB base model version of the iPhone 6S (via Steve Hemmerstoffer). This matches analysis of iPhone 6S components obtained by 9to5Mac back in June, which showed Apple using 16 GB memory chips in preproduction units.

Low storage space iPhone SKUs is a big complaint in the community. Many had thought this would be the year Apple finally drops 16 GB from the new lineup of phones for good. Although iOS 9 is more efficient regarding storage, features like 12-megapixel photos and 4K video recording generally require a lot more storage space. Some supplier reports have also said the new iPhone lineup will start at 32 GB.

Naturally, this unsubstantiated photo should be taken with some degree of skepticism. It could have been faked or it could have been from early product packaging designs that were changed later in the cycle. That being said, we now believe the box leak from yesterday to be accurate giving a bit more weight to the reliability of Chinese snaps of iPhone 6S packaging (shown below).

Also note that the existence of a 16 GB model does not mean the lineup has to stay identical as the iPhone 6 generation with 16/64/128 GB tiers. There is a chance Apple could slide in a 32 GB option between the 16 GB and 64 GB price points as they have done with the new iPod touch. We would consider this unlikely, however.

The iPhone 6S will likely launch around mid-September following the unveiling on September 9th. 9to5Mac’s exclusive report show the iPhone will feature a greatly improved camera, Force Touch functionality, come in a Rose Gold color variant and include animated wallpapers a la Apple Watch which is where the koi fish (shown on the box ) comes into play.