Category: Apple

iPhone 6 Plus Uses Twice as Much Data as the iPhone 6

Apple fans had to wait for a long while before they got a big screen. Their request was finally answered by Apple last year when they finally launched the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with bigger displays. These displays are great for multimedia consumption, but apparently they will also cause your data bills to skyrocket.

In a research paper submitted by Citrix, it claims that iPhone 6 Plus uses almost twice as much data as the iPhone 6. Interestingly it was also found that the bigger iPhone slurps out ten times more data than the iPhone 3Gs.

One of the major reasons cited for this heavy data usage is the increased multimedia content accessed through the devices. The bigger screen makes it easier for the users to watch heavy data intensive content like streaming videos.

This revelation may not be as worrisome to an Apple user because if you can afford an iPhone, then you might easily handle the additional data charge. iPhone users have got the pleasure of the big screen display just a few months back, so it’s obvious that they are making the most of it.

February 13, 2015
Apple Reveals New Tech Which Will Further Bolster iPhone’s Camera Quality

Apple is filing for a new patent, in an attempt to further bolster the performance of its image quality. The patent has been filed for a technology called “Mirror Tilt Actuation”, that allows users to take high quality pictures even if they aren’t holding their handset steady.

Apple believes this new technology will be a further improvement over the existing OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) technology that the company used in its iPhone 6 Plus for the first time.

So, how would this work?

According to Apple Insider, the camera would include a ‘folded optics arrangement,’ in which light would enter the lens and mirror assembly through a first lens. The light would then be redirected with a mirror at a right angle, where it would be sent to the remaining movable lens elements. To compensate for a user’s hand movement and any jitters in picture taking, Apple’s camera would include an actuator for tilting the mirror according to movement of the iPhone.

Put simply, Apple wants to pull-off a mechanism in the camera that will sync the camera’s mirror with the movement of your hands to make sure the picture quality is maintained even if your hand is shaky.

February 13, 2015
Next Macbook Air Might Sport Intel Broadwell Chipsets

Apple will soon be launching the new 12-inch Macbook Air. According to a rumour, these new laptops are expected to be powered by Intel’s Broadwell chipsets.

The rumor was reported by Letemsvetemapplem.eu. It says that Apple might choose from three options; a 2.2GHz Core i5-5250U, a 1.8GHz Core i5 chip or a 2GHz Core i7. These are the ultra-low voltage processors and might feature on the new Macbook Air

Apple is expected to give an official word on the release on February 24th. The company is also expected to hold a media event around that time to showcase its new products.

Macbook Air line of laptops is adored for their lightweight and high power functionalities. Apple last updated the device in April 2014, so it was almost time for a CPU upgrade. Intel on the other hand began offering the new chips for device manufacturers in the month of January. There have also been rumours of Apple bringing out a 12-inch Macbook Air Retina display in this quarter so that it might be one of the surprise unveilings from the company. February 24 is also a special day for Apple as it’s the 60th birth anniversary of its founder Steve Jobs.

February 11, 2015
Apple to Power New Headquarter With Solar Power Worth $850 Million

Apple’s new massive headquarters have been in news ever since the first design plans were unveiled. The spaceship like circular building looks spectacular and futuristic, apt for a company known for its superior designs. The new building would also be friendly to the environment as the company is investing $850 Million to power the building through solar energy.

Apple would be establishing a solar farm in an area spanning 2900 acres. It will be built by American photovoltaic manufacturer, First Solar. The building is expected to be fully constructed by next year.

A 25 year contract has been signed between the two companies. This is the biggest commercial power deal for the solar industry. Going completely solar is a great step on the part of Apple as data centers and corporate offices draw massive amount of power which in turn leads to pollution. Apple’s initiative might encourage other companies to rely on green power for their operations.

Environment activists Greenpeace appreciated Apple’s initiative and said:

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Greenpeace”]

Apple still has work to do to reduce its environmental footprint, but other Fortune 500 CEOs, other Fortune 500 companies would be well served to make a study of Tim Cook, whose actions show that he intends to take Apple full-speed ahead toward renewable energy with the urgency that our climate crisis demands.

[/quote]

Apple has a market valuation of more than $700 Billion and its appreciable that the company is investing in future oriented fields. It would also be great if the company brings out some mind blowing gadgetry that it has been known for.

February 11, 2015
Future iPhones May Have Touch ID Right on the Display

We have all seen those lame fingerprint sensor apps available on various app stores. They have been able to prank a lot of folks into downloading them. But Apple seems to have cracked the code to bring display-based Touch ID into reality.

In a patent titled “Fingerprint Sensor in an Electronic Device,” the company explains the technology. According to the abstract, a fingerprint sensor may capture fingerprint at a single pre-defined fixed location on a display, or they can opt for a full panel fingerprint sensor to capture multiple fingerprints.

The Fingerprint sensor can be placed at one spot on the display or it can scan multiple fingers at once.

Users may be able to unlock their device by placing a thumb at a predetermined spot on their iOS displays. On bigger displays like the iPad, there can be multiple fingerprint detection where you may scan with all five fingers.

To keep the sensors sensitive enough, Apple plans to implement the sensor as an integrated circuit connected to a bottom surface of a cover sheet. They can also place it near the bottom surface of the cover sheet, or connected to a top surface of a display.

This initiative will let Apple take off the round home button and make the device even slimmer. The technology still seems to be in the beginning stage and may not show up immediately on the next device by Apple. There will surely be some privacy concerns with this technology though as a thief could gain access to a person’s information by just acquiring their fingerprints. Apple would have to work seriously on the security features before it can bring the technology in the mainstream.

February 9, 2015
Apple Tests Faster Photos App for OS X to Replace iPhoto

Last year, Apple announced that it would discontinue its consumer photo library, iPhoto, and Aperture, the professional photo editing suite. The company has finally made up its mind. Recently, the firm released a developer version of the iPhoto successor app called Photos for OS X and soon it will be followed by a public Photos beta. The update will be absolutely free and will release for Mac users by spring this year.

The new app is expected to have a cleaner design and a file management system that is more convinent. As per the previous declaration by Apple, the new Photos app will be linked to iCloud, which is Apple’s photo backup.

As per The Verge, the new Photos app is just like iPhoto, so users would not have any problem navigating the app. Photos for OS X has four main tabs – Photos, Shared, Albums, and Projects. It contains all your photos in chronological format. Shared holds images from the shared photo streams, and an activity feed for likes and comments on those streams. Albums simply carries albums created by users and Projects stores slideshows. It’s a storefront for products with printed photos like cards, books, calendars, and so on.

Not just this, Phtotos for OS X can perform many other functions. The Albums section can segregate different kinds of images, e.g. panoramas, slo-mo videos, and time lapses. The app is said to be really fast, no matter how many pictures you stuff in it.

The central feature is its amazing syncronization capabiliy. If someone clicks on a picture from the iCloud-connected iPhone, it will automatically appear on the Photos app on Mac. Overall, the new app sounds quite promising and with this big step, the app should be able to gain some attention.

February 6, 2015
Apple Watch to be Used by Major US Hospitals for Health Report

Smartwatches are built with an aim to use technology to make lives easier for its users. Many manufacturers have now launched smartwatches to keep up with the wearable technology race, but it seems like Apple is working hard to remain at the top of this game. A new report states that Apple’s healthcare gadget is the top choice of major US hospital doctors to monitor patients.

According to a survey conducted by Reuters, top hospitals prefer Apple’s smartwatch rather than the wrist-worn gadgets by Samsung and Google. The hospitals are in talks to start a program of Apple’s HealthKit service that will assist doctors read the recorded health information like blood pressure, weight or heart rate, so that the chronic conditions can be detected.

The Apple Heathkit gathers data such as glucose measurement tools, tracking apps to measure food intake and exercise and Wi-Fi connected scales. The forthcoming watch, set to release in April, is expected to come with some features that would allow doctors to view the heath records of a person just by sending it through the watch.

The Chief Clinical Transformation Officer Dr. Richard Milani clarified the use of Apple Watch saying, “If we had more data, like daily weights, we could give the patient a call before they need to be hospitalized.” An industry advisor John Halamka spoke about the use of Apple Watch commenting, “Can I interface to every possible device that every patient uses? No. But Apple can.”

The health technology is growing at a rapid speed and there are chances that Apple will invest more by 2018 in technology including apps, wearables, virtual care and remote monitoring.

February 6, 2015
Apple’s New Beats Music Streaming Service is Reportedly Coming to Android

Some six months back, Apple bought the popular audio equipment brand Beats and at that time it wasn’t clear how and where the company going to use it. But now, Apple has started revamping the popular Beats Music streaming service and according to a report, the company will launch the new paid streaming service on the Android platform.

The recent service is entirely designed by Apple and infuses Beat technology and music content under the hood. Based on cloud streaming, the yet unnamed service is centered around the user’s music library. A new search feature is embedded within the app that helps locate songs in the iTunes/Beats catalog. Along with that users will be able to stream music and add songs to their personal library from the catalog itself.

Not only this, but also it is thinking of integrating Beats Music’s Playlist, Activities, and other features to let users access an already prepared music library. There is also news that the company will update Beats’ social networking feature so that people can follow other users and artists.

The service, expected to be priced $7.99 per month, will compete with the already popular apps like Spotify and Rdio, which cost $9.99 per month each.

A Beats Music app is already available for download on the Google Play Store, but it is not the tweaked version. The company has no plans to develop a new app for Microsoft’s platform.

The new service will mark Apple’s first-time effort to build an in-house Android application. It’s not astonishing, and the company could have focused on Android-based apps as Android audience is far widespread than the iOS.

There is no notification about when and on which platform (iOS or Android) it is going to release, but rumours have surfaced that it will release in March this year. There is a possibility that the new Beats Music app may release alongside Apple watch, but these are mere speculations as of now.

February 5, 2015
Apple’s Next Step to Web-Based TV Service Could Revolutionize Ongoing Programmes

Previously, it was rumoured that Apple is likely to work together with cable providers, but we heard nothing other than a Steve Jobs movie and an Apple TV set-top box. However, the Cupertino-based giant plans to penetrate more into the Television segment. Earlier today, some reports surfaced that Apple is in talks with content producers to start its own web-based TV service.

Additional rumours state that the forthcoming service would not be a full offering like the current television programming, but would rather be subscription-based that would telecast select shows. As the content would be web-based, it would be distributed on the internet only.

Apple never commented directly to enter into the Television market, however Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Apple, expressed his views on the ongoing TV broadcasts saying that the current TV-watching experience “sucks and needs to be reformed”.

Meanwhile, it is further learnt that the company has already started testing the prototype service at its base in Cupertino.

There is still no confirmation as to when or how this will launch or even how much will it cost; for this, viewers have to wait for an official announcement. However looking back at the success of the Apple TV ;this could be quite a revolutionary step by Apple.

February 5, 2015
Apple to Spend $2 Billion to Turn the Sapphire Glass Plant Into a Data Center

One of the most anticipated features of the new iPhones was the sapphire glass screen that would have made it practically scratch proof. But after facing multiple issues, the plan was scrapped. Apple was setting up a sapphire glass plant in the US state of Arizona, but its partner filed for bankruptcy in October last year. Now Apple plans to pump in heavy investments to convert the facility into a data center.

Apple had partnered with GT Advanced Technologies Inc in 2013 to manufacture the scratch resistant sapphire glass screens. The plans were dropped later, and the new iPhones came with hardened glass instead.

Now the failed plant will be renovated into a data center that will assist Apple with its various services. The multibillion-dollar project is one of the largest investments made by Apple; the Cupertino-based giant is known for being conservative with its spending.

The data center will act as a command center for Apple’s other data centers and networks and will handle services like iTunes, iCloud, Siri, etc. Apple plans to stretch its $2 billion investment up to ten years with a further commitment of 30 years. The center is expected to be powered by solar energy which is appreciable as data centers are extremely power intensive buildings.

February 3, 2015
Fresh Round of Rumours Emerge About Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Plus

Seeing users’ inclination towards large screen sizes, Apple is adopting the new trend and will soon launch a 12.9-inch iPad. The MacBook Air-sized iPad is named as iPad Plus. The iPad Plus was expected to debut last year alongside the iPad Air 2, but the company called off its release in view of production issues.

The online Chinese website Weibo has revealed the features of the forthcoming Apple tablet saying that the 12.9-inch iPad Plus will feature a 2K display. The device is expected to be extremely light, less than 700 grams, and as thin as 7mm.

The iPad Plus is said to have a mammoth battery of 11,000mAh, which would be 50% more capable than the iPad Air 2.

The source also remarked that that the Cupertino-based firm may halt the sales of iPad Mini 3 for people to focus on iPad Mini 4, whereas the iPad Mini 2 will continue to sell in the market.

February 2, 2015
Apple Grabs Top Spot from Samsung in the Largest Smartphone Vendor Race

Gone are those days when Apple used to console itself seeing Samsung receiving for world’s largest manufacturer achievement. Samsung has long enjoyed the reputation of being the biggest smartphone vendor in the world. But this time, Apple has snatched the accolade from its lap and is happily showing off the award as the world’s largest smartphone vendor.

According to an analysis by a trusted company, Creative Strategies, Apple has set a benchmark by selling 74.5 million iPhones. It is the biggest quarterly profit by any company in the history of smartphone trade. However, Samsung says that it has sold as much as 95 million handsets in total, out of which 71 million – 75 million are smartphones. Well, the South Korean producer is just putting ahead big numbers to cover its defeat.

The picture above clearly speaks of Apple’s win over the other vendors. The analyst for Creative Strategies, Ben Bajarin crowns Apple as the winner this time. However, another analysis firm Strategy Analytics claims that both Apple and Samsung shipped the same number of phones in the fourth quarter last year – 74.5 million smartphones.

Few days back, Apple saw record-breaking fiscal Q1 2015 earnings of $74.6 billion, out of which $18 billion was the net profit. This net gain figure put Apple in the topmost spot in terms of revenue. The soaring sales of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is the reason behind this success.

Though Apple has acquired the top position, Samsung will not sit back and let the Cupertino-based giant enjoy the prestige. It will surely work on a unique product to entice more customers. It would be exciting to see what Samsung comes up with next.

January 29, 2015
Apple Ties With Samsung For the Top Spot in the Global Smartphone Market

Apple is celebrating one of its biggest victory in its history. The Cupertino, California based iPhone maker has noted a $18 billion of net profit in last quarter, making it the most profitable quarter ever, not just for Apple, but for any company.

Now, new statistics have drawn in, putting both Apple and its arch-rival Samsung on the top slot in the last quarter of 2014. According to research firm Strategy Analytics, the iPhone maker’s global market share has grown to 20 percent, from 18 percent last year, while Samsung’s fortune headed the opposite direction dropping the firm to that same 20 percent figure from 30 percent in the year-ago period.

With Apple’s big screen iPhone, a bigger display is no longer a reason to buy Samsung’s devices

While Samsung still remains number one when it comes total shipments of the year 2014, Apple has matched Samsung’s fourth-quarter shipments of 74.5 million smartphones. The major reason of these interesting figures in Apple’s sixth generation iPhones which embraced larger screens and LTE trends to excite Asian consumers.

Samsung has been struggling to keep up with Apple in the high-end smartphone market and likes of Xiaomi and Micromax in the low-end market. With Apple’s big screen iPhone, a bigger display is no longer a reason to buy Samsung’s devices, and its smartphones can’t reach the low prices of those from Chinese and Indian vendors.

Apple took three year to comeback as a top dog in the tech industry, after Samsung replaced it in 2012. There has been a drastic shift in the global smartphone shipments which grew by 31 percent, to a record of 380.1 million units, in the fourth quarter of 2014. And it seems Apple is not having trouble holding a large chunk of the global market. Good Luck, Samsung.

January 29, 2015
iOS 8.1.3 Update Now Available, Demands Less Storage Space

Finally the Cupertino giant rolls out the iOS 8.1.3, a new update for its mobile devices that fixes a variety of bugs, and doesn’t even rob users of a major chunk of their phone’s storage, as the update is just about 247 MB. Users have been cribbing about free space with the launch of the iOS 8, as they had issues updating because of the massive size of the download. Other major fixes include zapping a bug that prevented app results from popping up in Spotlight search.

In addition, it also fixes a bug that prevented users from using their Apple ID password for use with Messages and FaceTime. It also fixes a bug that did not allow multitasking gestures from working properly. Also added is a configuration option for education standardized testing via Apple’s devices.

These issues might have resolved some of the more common users concerns about iOS 8, especially the amount of storage space the update demanded. To update the device, go to the Settings menu, select General and choose software update. For more information, you can head over to Apple support.

Do let us know your thoughts about the new update.

January 28, 2015
Apple Records The Most Profitable Quarter in Corporate History

Apple has released its fiscal Q1 2015 earnings and the result is pretty staggering. Well, the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker has broken all the records with most profitable quarter ever not just in Apple history but in corporate history.

The company reported $74.6 billion in revenue, $18 billion in net profit representing $3.06 per share. The $18 billion net profit put it in the top spot. Russia’s Gazprom (the largest natural gas extractor in the world) previously held the record at $16.2 billion in a quarter.

Apple’s own guidance from its last earnings release predicted between $63.5 billion and $66.5 billion in revenue, with gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent. Apple’s guidance has been accurate for the past year and a half, with the upper end of the forecast very close to what it actually reported. But this time, Apple was conservative and easily surpassed its own guidance.

Apple’s Q1 2015 International Revenue

Tim Cook talking to the press said that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Pus’s soaring sales are the main reason of this outstanding success. According to recent market analysis, this quarter saw largest number of consumers using iPhones and well as the largest number switches from Android to iOS.

This quarter also saw Apple becoming the biggest smartphone manufacturer in China in term of shipments with staggering $16.1 billion in revenue. The company didn’t reveal the detailed region specific numbers, however, the total international sales represented 65 percent of Apple’s revenue.

Apple’s soaring international revenue points towards very bright future of the company not just in terms of hardware but also it’s iOS ecosystem. Sixth generation iPhones have played a major role in this staggering success which embraced large screen and LTE to swell its sales exponentially in the global market.

January 28, 2015