Apple Faces is an interesting project started by Poulos Collective which shares custom wallpapers that you can use on your Apple Watch operating watchOS 2.0. The neat thing about Apple Faces is each one is designed to match a color combination of your watches body and strap.
Hit the source link below and happy customizing.
One of my favorite cuts off of Purity Ring's 2015 release "Another Eternity" is begin again. Purity Ring have provided some official visuals for the song. Check it out below and if you have not grabbed it yet, Another Eternity is a must download.
Happy Monday. Start your morning off with the smooth vibes of Soulection Radio. This week's episode features guest GoldLink. Hit the player below.
Make sure to check out one of my current favorite albums which features that "Soulection Sound", Oshi.
Run the Jewels is back for another submission to the Adult Swim Singles collection. Adult Swim started its free singles series back in 2010 and Run the Jewels have been involved since the group's inception.
This track was created for Rubble Kings which is a documentary about the evolution of New York City hip-hop in the late 60's and 70's.
The Rubble Kings Theme is a free download from the Adult Swim site. Also make sure to check out past singles series and download them all for free.
Have a great weekend.
A little over a week and it's official. I love 3D Touch. It takes a bit to get used to and into your "muscle memory" but if you train yourself to always use 3D Touch for app launching and peek/pop you will find yourself doing it just like double clicking the home button. It becomes natural.
One of the subset options of 3D Touch is the ability to invoke the app switcher. The App Switcher is typically accessed by double pressing the home button. With the introduction of 3D Touch you can now use the App Switcher by 3D Touching on the middle, left side of the iPhone screen. This works when you're either on the homescreen or have an app open. I'll stick to my opinion that Apple is in the process of "training" owners of iPhones to prepare for life without a physical home button.
There are two results from using 3D Touch to invoke the App Switcher. The first allows you to quickly switch apps by 3D Touching on the spot indicated by the call out above and in one fluid motion flick the screen to the right. This will quickly open the next app. The second result from using 3D Touch for the App Switcher is bringing up the App Selector itself. Once you apply the 3D Touch in the "special spot" you slowly pull to the right and reveal the open apps (as seen in the GIF above).
As I said it takes a bit to get used to. Once you get the hang of it you will find it's much easier and quicker to switch apps while in other apps by invoking this 3D Touch feature. Instead of double pressing the home button you can quickly just flick between apps using 3D Touch.
My favorite calendar and overall app just received a big update. Fantastical 2.5 is out now with tons of new features that support the recently updated iOS 9 and watchOS 2.0. The update includes 3D Touch support, native watch app with third party complications, split view support, an improved week view, and a tap and hold shortcut for selecting which map app to open your destination in. Fantastical 2.5 is a free update. Grab it here.
One of my favorite MC's, Masta Ace, doesn't get enough mainstream credit that he's due. He got his start among of a group of legends by joining one of the most famous posse cuts in hip-hop history, Marley Marl's "The Symphony". Ace sat down with The Cipher podcast to discuss his career, where he's been and what's next up for him. Check out the full episode below and subscribe to the podcast here.
I've only been a Mac user for about two years now but in those two years time I've picked up on tons of OS X tricks and shortcuts to move around the OS just as well as I did with Windows. One of those tools I find essential in OS X is Automator. Automator allows you to create recipes that perform simple or complex tasks. It allows you to complete tasks that would normally take hours, in seconds. For years now I've always wanted this ability to "chain" apps together and complete tasks in the background by initiating a "trigger". Enter Workflow for iOS.
Workflow is a very easy app to get started with. From the beginning the app walks you through how to create your first workflow, an animated GIF creator. Once you complete the walkthrough you are ready to start building your library either from your own personally created workflows or from the community created workflows located in the gallery section of the app. The cool part about the gallery is you can modify the workflows you add to your collection to tailor them specifically to your needs.
Workflows can be ran in various methods. You can launch workflows from your home screen, today widget, as an action extension from the share sheet, or from your Apple Watch.
Once you build your library you can organize them via drag and drop and also customize each one by giving it it's own color, name, and icon. These workflows will stay in sync on all devices.
Home Screen launchable workflows act as "launchers" which allow you to take action such as viewing what is currently copied to the clipboard or launching a tip calculator workflow which will provide you the tip amount with the total bill. These workflows act similar to small built in apps. I like to call it the swiss army knife of my iPhone. I keep these all organized in a folder on my homescreen called "Workflows".
Today widget workflows give you quick access to your most essential workflows directly in the pull down today widget view. The cool thing about these workflows is they run right from the today widget without the need to open the workflow app itself. For example, the tip calculator presents you with a keypad directly in the widget to make your input. The result is displayed right in the workflow section of the today widget.
Action extension workflows are launched from the share sheet that is located within most apps. This type of workflow allows you to take action on the currently displayed information in the app you are using. For example one of my favorite workflows is using Google's reverse image search to find a higher quality version of a photo. Using this extension directly from a photo page view on a webpage within safari is extremely handy and of course, automated.
The introduction of the Apple Watch allowed the Workflow developers to expand the apps support. The best part of the Apple Watch workflows actually came with watchOS 2.0 which allows the use of third party complications. You can now set a shortcut directly on the watch face to launch one of your favorite workflows. Now that the app is native to the watch loading watch workflows from within the app is faster than ever.
When you want to create your own workflows from scratch or modify one from the galley you have access to a treasure trove of actions ranging from app launching to taking action on contacts. Workflow presents you with a categorized list of actions to choose from or you can browse through some of the suggested actions that are recommended based on the workflow you are creating.
Staying with the theme of this app being user friendly, pressing on an action will reveal a slide down message that explains what each action performs.
Simply drag and drop the action you want from left to right to add them to your workflow.
I've put together a nice collection of personal workflows that I've gotten a lot of use out of. The nice thing about Workflow is its strong community of users. While there is not an official Workflow gallery website there are a few communities online with hundreds of workflows available to import into your app. Here are some of my most essential workflows.
Those are some of my essential self created workflows. There are thousands more on the internet to easily import into your Workflow app. Here are some resources to get you going.
Workflow has proven to be an essential app to my collection and daily workflow. It speeds up processes that used to take me numerous steps in launching multiple apps and services.
Workflow is available for iPhone and iPad and includes a free sync service which keeps all your devices up to date and organized. It also supports 3D Touch and the new iPhone 6s.
Workflow is currently on sale for $3.99 (20% off) to celebrate the launch of iOS 9 and the iPhone 6s.
In my opinion it's worth every penny of the full price.
This week's Soulection show was a quality one as always. No guests this week, just two hours of solid music. Hit the player below and let Joe Kay cure your case of the "Mondays". Will update the post when the tracklisting is available. You can follow Soulection radio on Apple Music connect here.
When I used to dabble in DJing back in my college days this was one of my favorite tracks to mix. This is a remix of the already fantastic UNKLE cut from the album Never, Never, Land.
Enjoying the pulsing basslines of Eye for an Eye. Have a great weekend.
