Category: Apple

Some iPhone Variants In 2018 To Miss Out On Wireless Charging

In November, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities indicated that Apple would unveil a new 6.1-inch iPhone next year with the iPhone X design, but a traditional LCD display instead of OLED. A new report from Nikkei claims that the LCD iPhone will feature a metal back similar to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

The 6.1-inch LCD model will likely sport a metal back [like older iPhone handsets] that will come in several colors, and that the two OLED handsets will come in two sizes: one either 6.2 or 6.3 inches long, and the other 5.8 inches.

A move back to a metal body will mean that the new iPhone might be available in a few more colour options than the iPhone 8 or iPhone X. It’s believed that it’s harder for Apple to produce additional colour options in the glass back design, hence why this year’s phones are available in fewer colour variants than last year’s.

The iPhone 7 came in five different colour options-Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, Jet Black, and Matte Black. Meanwhile, the iPhone X only comes in Silver or Space Gray and the iPhone 8 in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold.

It has barely been over 2 months since the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were launched and we already have multiple reports of what the iPhones launching in September of 2018 will look like. It is too early to call anything as of now but, we will keep you posted on all new developments.

December 7, 2017
Apple AirPods Sales Expected To Double In 2018

Multiple reports have claimed that the Apple AirPods dominate the truly wireless earbuds segment in the US. A new report from KGI Securities has claimed that AirPods will continue to experience an exponential growth. In 2018, Kuo believes that Apple will sell upwards of 28 million units, a figure which would effectively double AirPods sales year over year.

Apple doesn’t break out individualised sales figures for specific accessories, but estimates for 2017 sales are somewhere in the 13-14 million range.

We believe demand for AirPods has been strong, and note that the shipping time of the product on Apple’s official shopping website has shortened to 1-3 days, mainly thanks to an improved assembly process and increased capacity from Luxshare as the new assembler […]

We expect AirPods to remain one of the most popular Apple accessories in 2018, with shipments likely to rise 100% YoY to 26-28mn units next year.

Apple’s decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus last year was met with widespread scepticism as majority of smartphone users still use wired headphones and headphone makers had not yet entered the realm of lightning post or USB C headphones.

The AirPods was Apple’s solution to that and an indication that Apple is well and truly on its way to make a port-less iPhone. The ease of connecting the AirPods to your Apple devices proved decisive in its record sales in the past year, even though there are better sounding headphones at a cheaper price available in the market.

Following Apple’s footsteps, a lot of big companies like Samsung and recently, Sony released their versions of the truly wireless earbuds and prolific headphone makers like B&O have also entered the premium earbuds market.

A report by Gartner revealed that the sales of truly wireless earbuds will hit the 150 million sales mark in 2017.

December 5, 2017
Qualcomm Sues Apple Again For Infringing Palm OS Patents

The Apple-Qualcomm legal battle seizes to fizzle any time soon. After Apple filed a counter-suit against its bitter tech-rival, Qualcomm has responded with a new patent infringement lawsuit against the Cupertino-based tech giant.

Qualcomm wants the iPhone X banned because it claims that Apple infringed the chip maker’s patents, including some relating to improving bandwidth in devices, saving power and enhancing photos from the rear-facing camera. Qualcomm has also claimed that Apple copied some elements of the Palm OS, which Qualcomm obtained the rights to in 2014, when it bought many of Palm’s other patents.

In its filing of the suit, Qualcomm said:

All of these Palm inventions – owned by Qualcomm – have vastly improved the functionality of mobile devices and the user experience, and all of them are widely found in Apple products without license or permission.

However, Qualcomm has claimed that this is not in response to Apple’s latest lawsuit. In fact, this lawsuit was in the company’s plan for a long time and the timing is just a coincidence. Donald Rosenburg said:

You can’t react that quickly to file lawsuits. We were in the process of filing three new district court cases in San Diego today, and one new ITC case in Washington, D.C. Those involve a group of 16 patents that are additional to the ones we have already sued them on, and five of those 16 are ones we are suing them on in the ITC seeking an exclusion order.

This is a new lawsuit by Qualcomm in quick succession. Back in October, it claimed that Apple was giving rival processor company Intel information about its chips.

December 4, 2017
Apple Releases iOS 11.2 which Brings Fast Wireless Charging To iPhone 8 / 8 Plus And iPhone X

Apple has released iOS 11.2 for all iOS 11 compatible devices. The update seems a bit unusual since Apple usually releases new iOS updates on Tuesday.

The update seemingly fixes an iOS 11.1.2 bug that was causing iPhones to crash because of third-party apps that use recurring notifications for things like reminders. An update from Apple, for a bug that was reported just a few hours ago, is an extremely fast reaction to the problem.

Other features that iOS 11.2 brings are fast wireless charging for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. The update introduces 7.5-watt speeds through Qi-based charging pads, so devices top up battery quicker than before.

Another big introduction in the latest version of iOS 11 is Apple Pay Cash in the US. This is Apple’s peer-to-peer transaction service. Apple Pay Cash is available inside the Messages app, and allows iPhone users to send money through iMessage. Cash is then deposited on an Apple Pay Cash card inside the Wallet app on iOS 11.2, and can be used to purchase goods through Apple Pay or the money can be transferred to a bank account.

Other little updates include a pop-up that explain that the Control Centre Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles have changed. There are also new live wallpapers for the iPhone X.

You can download the update by going to Settings < General < Software Update.

December 2, 2017
Here’s Something Important You Should Know About Face ID

The Apple iPhone X launched towards the end of the year and grabbed all the attention that iPhones have historically done. With a huge design departure from the previous generations, Apple took an important decision and removed the trusted Touch ID and replaced it with Face ID.

If you own an iPhone X, you’d have your own experience with Face ID and differing opinions about whether it was the right decision or not. But, the fact is that Touch ID is gone, and by the looks of it, it isn’t coming back. One of the many great things about Touch ID was multiple fingerprint support which allowed users to give access to people they trusted.

You may also like – I Spent A Day With The iPhone X And I Am Done With The Home Button

With Face ID, that options isn’t there yet and if you thought that future software updates will allow that to happen, then you might be wrong in thinking so. According to Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering has conceded that multiple ‘face’ support for Face ID is not a part of Apple’s plans for Face ID.

Someone who missed that Touch ID feature emailed Craig Federighi regarding the same and got this response:

Currently we’re focusing Face ID on a single user authentication. Even TouchID’s multi-finger support was really intended to enable a single iPhone owner to unlock the device with a finger and thumb on both hands, not to enable multi-user authentication.

We’ll certainly keep your feedback in mind as we consider our plans to evolve Face ID in the future.

Now, it might be possible that as Apple continues to make Face ID better, it may reach that point where multiple faces can be recognised but, as of now that seems uncertain.

December 2, 2017
Your iPhone X May Be Faster Than Your Friend’s iPhone X

Apple iPhone X has been out for almost a month now and people who’ve recently ordered it, will start receiving their iPhone X sooner rather than later. If you have an iPhone X already, it is possible that your phone might be faster (or slower) than your friend’s iPhone X.

Apple equips iPhones in the US with modems from both Intel and Qualcomm, and the same goes for their priciest iPhone yet, the iPhone X. In a new report, it has been unearthed that iPhone X models with Qualcomm modems were faster than iPhone X models with Intel modems.

The test shows that iPhone X models with Qualcomm modems “get consistently better LTE speeds than Intel’s on America’s most common LTE band.”

It is worth noting that Apple crippled a few functionalities of the Qualcomm chip because the Intel chips don’t support these features yet. So, in order to keep the differences at a bare minimum, Apple curbed the performance of the Qualcomm chipsets itself.

But, the good news is that you won’t notice the difference between the two until you’re in a dire situation.

Following recent legal battles between Qualcomm and Apple, it won’t come as a surprise if all iPhones start shipping with Intel modems in the future. Reports already suggest the same and with recent law suits, the relationship between the two firms may have gone beyond repair.

December 2, 2017
A New Patent Application Published For Using Apple Pencil With iPhone

Apple Pencil support for iPhones have been highly anticipated ever since Tim Cook accidentally confirmed that its on it way. A new patent has been published which chronicles the technology behind using the pencil with a smartphone.

The touch sensing system may perform one or more coarse input device sub-scans to determine a coarse location of the input device.

The coarse location can be used to select one or more touch sensors (or sensor channels) to sample for decoding data encoded in the stimulation signals from the input device.

During one or more fine input device sub-scans, the touch sensing system can determine a fine location of the input device and decode the data from the input device sampled from the selected touch sensors (or sensor channels).

The sketches accompanying the patent resemble the iPhone even though the patent talks generically about ‘touchscreen devices’.

Some reports suggest that 2019 iPhones will even retail with a mini Apple Pencil although this seems far-fetched.

December 1, 2017
2018 iPhone Users Will Not Have Battery Life Issues

As smartphones get sleeker, many companies resort to making the battery size smaller in order to keep the phone thin. As the iPhone X launch craze fades away, a new report suggests that the 2018 iPhones will have a new power management system that will qualify as the “most advanced in the industry.”

It appears that Apple is designing its own power chips, which should be manufactured by TSMC, Apple’s go-to silicon supplier.

This new component will barely be mentioned in the keynote, or make the advertiser’s list of fancy features but, it is one component that can make the 2018 iPhone a much better prospect than its Android counterparts. The report goes on to say:

The in-house chip would be the most advanced in the industry, according to the sources, and could have processing capabilities that allow it to better monitor and control power consumption among various components.

With Apple resorting to in-house chip manufacturing, its current supplier Dialog Semiconductor will be sweating bullets. Last year, Apple accounted for 74% of Dialog Semiconductor’s revenue which means that this move by Apple will not be good news for the UK-based firm.

The repercussions of Apple moving to in-house chip-making are real. Earlier in 2017, it was reported that Apple had started developing its own graphics chips, which resulted in Imagination Technologies’ stock crashing immediately upon the revelation. It was later revealed that the company had sold itself to a private equity investment fund in the aftermath.

December 1, 2017
Google Could Owe Over US $650 To Every iPhone User

Lawsuits and counter lawsuits within tech companies have been going on since as far as one can imagine. But, a tech giant owing considerable amount of money to consumers could be the new talking point. British consumers who used an iPhone between June 2011 and February 2012 could receive as much as US $672 each from Google as compensation for the search giant bypassing Safari privacy settings between those dates.

Google’s backdoor method of installing cookies on iPhones despite them being blocked in Safari’s settings was discovered in 2012.

A British campaign group launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of the 5.4 million iPhone users in England and Wales affected by Google’s ‘Safari workaround.’ The lawsuit could cost Google as much as US $3.63 billion.

The campaign group, You Owe Us, has said that the British iPhone owners affected by the breach of privacy do not need to take any action at this stage to be included in the lawsuit.

We have started a representative action against Google because we believe they abused the rights of iPhone users by taking their data unlawfully.

A representative action is when a group of people affected by the same issue are represented by a single person to bring a claim. Consumers can use such an action to hold large companies to account. Representative actions need representatives, ours is Richard Lloyd.

If you were affected you will automatically be part of the claim and you do not need to take any further action. Richard Lloyd and the lawyers are taking care of the case.

The compensation amount has not been officially decided yet. The campaign group says that the amount would be decided by the court.

November 30, 2017
Apple’s Counter Suit Against Qualcomm Could Mean Bad News To Android Phones

Apple vs Qualcomm is not a new story. The two tech giants have been embroiled in a legal battle for many years now. But, this legal battle is not just two big companies going against each other, the result of the legal battle will have consequences which the whole tech industry will have to deal with.

Apple has filed a new countersuit against Qualcomm, in which it is targeting some Snapdragon chips that power some of the most prominent Android phones in the market right now. Even though Apple has received support from other Android phone makers in this case, Apple targeting Snapdragon chipsets won’t go down well with these companies which rely on Qualcomm’s chipsets for powering their devices.

In a revised response to Qualcomm’s previous lawsuit, it has listed some accusations of its own. Apple says it owns at least eight patents related to battery life that Qualcomm’s chips have violated.

The patents describe technologies that allow a certain part of a phone’s processor to only draw the minimum power needed and turn off when it’s not needed. The two main chipsets in question here are the Snapdragon 800 and Snapdragon 820 chipsets.

Apple is asking for damages from Qualcomm, but, an actual number has not been specified yet.

November 30, 2017
Apple iPhone X Goes On Sale On Amazon At 2pm – Discounts, Offers And More On iPhone 7, iPhone SE
If buying an iPhone X was a part of your holiday plans then fret not. One of the most anticipated smartphones in the world, the iPhone X will go on sale in India via Amazon today (30th November) at 2pm. Here are a few offers available:
- No Cost EMIs up to 6 months on HDFC Credit Card along with INR 2,000 instant discount on HDFC Bank Debit and Credit Card transactions
The iPhone X is priced at Rs 89000 for the 64GB variant while the 256GB variant is priced at Rs 1,02,000 in India.

Along with the iPhone X, other iPhone models will be available at a discounted price as well. Buy it here

The iPhone 7, which usually retails for Rs 49000 for the 32GB variant is on sale for Rs 41999 while the 128GB variant is available for Rs 51999 which usually retails for Rs 58000. Buy it here

The iPhone SE, one of the most affordable iPhones ever made, is currently available for Rs 19999 which usually retails for Rs 26000. Buy it here

Watch Our iPhone X Unboxing:

Watch Our iPhone 7 Review:

Watch our iPhone SE Review:
November 30, 2017
Apple Has Fixed The MacOS Security Flaw Already

Only yesterday (29th November), the news broke out of a major security flaw that allowed anyone to gain root access to a Mac device running MacOS High Sierra.

Apple issued a statement:

Security is a top priority for every Apple product, and regrettably we stumbled with this release of macOS.

When our security engineers became aware of the issue Tuesday afternoon, we immediately began working on an update that closes the security hole. This morning, as of 8:00 a.m., the update is available for download, and starting later today it will be automatically installed on all systems running the latest version (10.13.1) of macOS High Sierra.

We greatly regret this error and we apologize to all Mac users, both for releasing with this vulnerability and for the concern it has caused. Our customers deserve better. We are auditing our development processes to help prevent this from happening again.

Apple’s latest MacOS High Sierra operating system had a very serious flaw that allowed anyone with access to a Mac gain root access by simply typing “root” as the username. The flaw didn’t even require someone to enter a password, which means that anyone with zero hacking knowledge and evil intentions could get into your Mac.

November 30, 2017
This MacOS High Sierra Bug Lets Anyone Login Into A Mac

Securing our gadgets in this day and age is of utmost priority since most of our lives are now digital. But, it appears that your Mac running MAcOS High Sierra might be susceptible to a serious security hack.

Apple’s latest MacOS High Sierra operating system has a very serious flaw that can allow anyone with access to a Mac gain root access by simply typing “root” as the username. It appears that the flaw doesn’t even require someone to enter a password, which means that anyone with zero hacking knowledge and evil intentions can get into your Mac.

Apple has responded to the complaints and announced that it is working on a fix.

Patrick Wardle, a security researcher with Synack said:

We always see malware trying to escalate privileges and get root access. This is best, easiest way ever to get root, and Apple has handed it to them on a silver platter.

This was Apple’s response:

We are working on a software update to address this issue. In the meantime, setting a root password prevents unauthorized access to your Mac. To enable the Root User and set a password, please follow the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204012.

If a Root User is already enabled, to ensure a black password is not set, please follow the instructions from the ‘Change the root password’ section.

If you are one of the many people who updated their Mac machine to the latest OS, it will be sensible to follow Apple’s instructions until a new update fixes this major security bug.

November 29, 2017
Face ID Cracked Yet Again

Face ID might be the future, according to Apple but, it sure has some loopholes. Then again, which technology doesn’t? Vietnamese cyber security research firm Bkav was able to crack Face ID for a second time using a more elaborate mask and nearly US $150 in materials.

The researchers were able to crack Face ID with a 3D printed mask of the user’s face made of stone powder. Infrared images of the user’s eyes were printed on paper and glued onto the 3D mask to trick the iPhone X’s infrared camera into perceiving that real eyes were looking at it.

After the first attempt at fooling Face ID, the firm recommended that businessmen and National Leaders not use Face ID for securing their iPhone Xs. After the second attempt, the firm has come to conclusion that Face ID is not secure enough business transactions like Apple Pay.

To say that your iPhone X is not secure at all and you should stick to a passcode is a little far-fetched. The process that Bkav undertook to fool Face ID is quite intensive and required special equipments to attain the desired results. You would also need access to a high-quality image of the person’s face and uninterrupted time with the user’s iPhone X.

Apple can take a feather out of Android Jellybean’s hat by adding an extra layer of security wherein the user has to blink before FaceID unlocks the phone. Android Jellybean had a feature called ‘liveness check’ but, it was easily fooled. Face ID on the other hand will implement it much better.

November 28, 2017
Motorola Mocks Samsung And Apple In A New Advertisement

Motorola has come out with a new advertisement in which it mocks Samsung and Apple. The ad continues from where Samsung’s infamous advertisement ends in which Samsung mocks Apple and the iPhone X.

https://youtu.be/Dw7verGkl5c

The new ad from Motorola shows off the projector mod on the Moto Z2 Play. While the Samsung ad was rather elaborate in mocking Apple and its range of iPhones, Motorola has gone ahead and been brief about its attempt at mocking the two smartphone giants. The name of the campaign is “Up-upgrade” in reference to Samsung’s campaign which was called “Upgrade.”

While many were waiting for Apple’s response to the advertisement where Samsung mocked it, Motorola has swooped in and taken the opportunity to mock the two giants in a single advertisement.

This trend of rival brands mocking each other appears to be catching up and it will be interesting to see if either company will go ahead and respond to this effort by Motorola.

https://youtu.be/R59TevgzN3k

November 27, 2017