Tag: apple

Apple iPhone 6s Expected to Arrive with 2GB RAM,12MP Camera and a Rose Gold Colour Option

Apple’s latest products in the market, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus include the most significant upgrades that the company has incorporated since years. The two smartphones arrived last year in September, and were accompanied by the grand announcement of the Apple Watch. Now, it is time to begin discussing what Apple has in store for us this year. According to AppleInsider, Ming-Chi Kuo, an Analyst from KGI Securities issued a security note that read Apple will be offering an additional Rose Gold option for the upcoming iPhone, to keep its market in momentum.

iPhone 6s is Expected to Include Force Touch Technology.

Some of the changes the ‘iPhone 6s’ is said to include is a new design using an improved casing material and a newly resurrected inner design. One more microphone is said to be added near the new handset’s speakers in an attempt to improve the sound quality. Kuo also said the device will come with 2 GB RAM and a 12MP camera. Kuo also reveals that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6s models will be powered by a next-gen A9 processor. Another highlight of the new iPhone would be the inclusion of Force Touch, a feature which we’ve recently seen on the Apple Watch and MacBook. As every year, the smartphones would be released in the month of September.

This concludes one of the first major leaks about the upcoming iPhone, we should expect to see more rumours emerge as the launch date approaches.

May 13, 2015
Apple’s Newest iOS Update Comes With A Revamped Music Player

Apple Watch had almost flooded the news as it came close to its releasing on April. Now, after clearing out most of the hassle and confusion, Apple has now again begun to concentrate on its software. Today, Apple has released the third beta of iOS 8.4 for developers. Apple has been testing different beta groups of iOS 8.4 since the release of iOS 8.3 in mid-April.

Major updates include a revamped music app that is described as more powerful and elegant than before, Up Next Functionality, a redesigned MiniPlayer look for ‘Now Playing’ and a new improved version of iTunes Radio.

The new design of the music app will show pictures of the artist in the Artist View. Within the Music App, there are personalized playlists and global search capabilities that make it easier to search for music. The newest toggle included in the Music App is the Offline Option which shows any music that is stored offline. The iTunes Radio has had a few interface changes too, like a new font for ‘Recently Played’ and some more new fonts for each iTunes Radio category.

The update is available via OTA update and through the iOS Developer Centre. It is highly possible that Apple might release a new version of its iOS and OS X 10.11 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, which is scheduled to take place in 8^th June.

May 12, 2015
Report: Apple to Offer Free Exclusive Tracks on its Upcoming Music Streaming Service

Time and again, we are hearing about Apple’s refurbished music streaming service ‘Beats Music’. Earlier we heard of it pairing up with renowned American bands and artists like Taylor Swift, Florence and the Machine, but Apple has a couple of surprises before it makes Beats Music public. It was widely reported that the Cupertino-based tech firm will charge $8 for a monthly subscription, but it seems like now Beats Music users will find a free streaming option as well.

According to a report by Recode, some industry sources have confirmed a free trial period where users can listen to some tracks without paying for it. This testing period may range from one to three months depending on the negotiating deals with music labels. Under these negotiations, the music owners will be free to upload a sampling of their tracks, which users can listen for free without subscribing. It will be somewhat like SoundCloud which offers free music as YouTube offers video. There will also be a new version of iTunes Radio featuring human-curated playlist.

Apple also clarified it would never be like other free music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora that offer unlimited tracks without any charge. It is against advertising programme as promotion-supported free streaming doesn’t make much money, as per the company.

Last year, Apple acquired Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion. The service was launched only a few months earlier. The world’s most valuable company is gearing to tweak the service and release it sometime this year. Apple already enjoys a dominance in music downloads from its iTunes, now it aims to kick out the newly formed Tidal founded by Jay Z and several other music titans.

The Beats Music is scheduled to launch this summer at a competitive price of $9.99/month for individuals, while a family plans will cost $14.99/month. It is speculated that Apple might opt for a different name for its streaming service.

May 9, 2015
Samsung to Provide Chipset and Displays for Apple’s Upcoming Products

It looks like the world’s biggest rivals in the tech world will soon be announcing major collaborations. According to the grapevine, Samsung will be manufacturing Apple’s core chip for the next iPhone as well as displays for other Apple products. This unexpected alliance was formed when Apple Chief Executive agreed to tone down the battle of patent suits against Samsung, thereby leading to this association.

Samsung will be budgeting $14 billion dollars for setting up new plants and equipment for manufacturing Apple’s newest device parts. Samsung had used the latest SoC for their flagship Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. The chip uses 14nm technology whose standards are matched by Exynos 7420, Samsung’s home made processor. The 14Nm chip is more powerful than the 16Nm chips that are standardly used in the company’s handsets.

But from this partnership, Apple’s former partners like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Sandisk may get a significant blow. TSMC used to manufacture chips for all the previous models of the iPhone and SanDisk was given the responsibility of memory chips for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

There are no official confirmations from both the tech power houses, but if true, we may soon see something very different from this alliance. Although Samsung is manufacturing Apple’s new chipset, the Korean company will continue to make its own smartphones.

May 5, 2015
Apple Admits Tattoos May Cause the Watch Problems

Who would have thought that the proper working of Apple’s newest product, the Apple Watch, will depend on if you have tattoo or not? A few days back, several reports had surfaced of tattooed Apple Watch owners facing trouble with their new purchase. Just like the Bendgate fiasco, it sounded like a tech glitch, which was made to sound bigger than it actually was. However, Apple has posted on its official blog that users sporting tattoos may face difficulty in operating the smart watch’s key feature – the heart-rate monitor.

Apple said the watch works on a technology called photoplethysmography that bombards the wearer’s skin with green LED and infrared light in order to follow the blood flow between heart pumps.

The official Apple support page reads:

Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink, pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.

The only solution Apple has to offer for now is that by connecting the Apple Watch wirelessly to external heart rate monitors via Bluetooth, the wearable can bypass the sensor reading from the tattooed area.

The tattoo problem is not only being faced by Apple Watch users. Similar fitness wearables that use the same technology, have been reported to malfunction a little when worn on a tattooed hand.

May 2, 2015
Counterpoint : Samsung Stays Steady on Top in India; Micromax Faces a Steep Decline

According to the Q1 2015 reports by Counterpoint Technology Market Research, Samsung remained the the lead as India’s champion in terms of growth and market share. The company has recently faced absurd challenges, in Asia particularly, but its condition improved enough to win over the Indian market from Apple and Micromax.

Reports of the Q1 2015 showed Samsung India grew 2.1% over the last year. Samsung led the overall mobile phone market and the smartphone segment during the quarter with market shares of 18.2% and 27.8% respectively. This figure is still below the 33% growth from the previous year. But, with a sale of 82.4 million handsets within the first three months of the quarter, Samsung captured 24.5% of the market share.

According to the report, Samsung has used its distribution prowess to sell-in during the quarter as it executed aggressive smartphone launches during the quarter including the Tizen-based Z1.

One of the reasons why Samsung boomed is that the Korean company launched its flagship Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge at the end of the quarter in April.

Micromax ended their quarter with 15.3% market share that served as a decline on the yearly basis as well as on sequential basis. Although, it still managed to secure the second place, the report commented that Micromax’s new brand Yureka with the launch of its first Cyanogen powered LTE smartphone Yu started off well, but will need more models across different price brackets to match the scale of Xiaomi and Motorola.

May 1, 2015
It Costs Less Than $84 to Make an Apple Watch Sport Edition

The finest luxury Gold Edition smartwatch by Apple comes at a whopping amount of $17,000. The lowest version starts at $349, and the price goes up with the higher the model you choose. But do you know the heavily tagged Apple Watch costs just 24% of the retail price to the company?

The research firm IHS did a teardown of the Apple Watch Sport and discovered that one unit of the Sport is worth 24% of what buyers pay for it. It is less than one-fourth of the price and costs the Cupertino-based tech giant a mere $84 (approx.). The firm quoted it as the lowest price set by the company for any hardware as other Apple products are traded much higher than their manufacturing cost.

As per IHS estimates, the 38mm Watch has the OLED display as its priciest part that is coated with Ion-X cover glass. The whole arrangement of display and protection provided by LG costs $20.50. The second most expensive part of the watch is the A1 processor manufactured at the company’s plant itself. All other components cost below $10, except the electro-mechanical apparatus.

As the cost is estimated on the basis of teardown, the expenses such as licensing, logistics, R&D, and other noticeable costs have not been taken into account.

The expense table of the 35mm Apple Watch Sport by IHS is given below:

May 1, 2015
Here’s Why It is Difficult for Developers to Create Games for Apple Watch

When Apple Watch went up for sale globally on Friday, nobody thought that games could find a place on Apple Watch. The Cupertino-based firm focused on health and fitness apps incorporated on its Watch, and never talked about any game-related app in its March 9 conference.

However, it sparks a question of whether developers would be able to shrink down games to the size of a 2-inch screen of the device. The gaming market for the smartphones is vast, and with the size of games decreasing year after year, it now seems possible. The preview page of Apple shows only two games.

It was learnt that developers don’t have access to full features of the wearable and development tools. But if any company succeeds to squeeze down a game to the size of the watch, it will have a firm grip on the smartwatch game sector. Apple has made a record-breaking $15 billion in 2014 through games in its App Store, and with estimates of 40 million Apple Watch to sell by year-end, there is a vast market for the developers ahead.

Some game developers have already started to take an initiative. New York-based studio Robot 5 says it has already designed three games that can be played on the 2-inch screen, along with seven more that will complete before the end of June.

Runeblade

Right now, the Apple Watch acts as a screen interface when tethered to the iPhone. Developers are still trying to figure out a way to develop native apps for the Watch. For making games on the wearable, it will need an entirely different mindset, however. Peter Chen, Founder and CEO of Robot 5 Studios says –

The biggest challenge is the complexity of the animations. iPhone games can have animations that are infinitely complex, with full control of each pixel and also of objects movements across the screen. Apple Watch games don’t have this kind of control over pixels and objects, so we have to mimic this kind of behavior.

It is likely that Apple will work on this issue on its launch or after, added Peter Chen. The 18-hour battery life of the wearable is also a problem for the developers.

It is quite evident that creating games for Apple Watch is not impossible. Just like for the iPhone and iPad, creating a set of games for the wearable needs a different approach.

Robot 5 Studios released a teaser of a new game. Check out how it looks like on Apple Watch in the video below:

https://youtu.be/tcwFyJysTG8

April 25, 2015
Hackers Bring Microsoft Cortana’s Android Cousin; Meet Portaña

Microsoft’s personal voice assistant Cortana to land on Windows Phone platform is far from debuting on Android devices, but a group of hackers based in Italy has made it possible. The group, who call themselves OrangeSec, claims to have ported Microsoft’s Cortana to Android. The new personal assistant is named as Portaña.

The hackers made some alterations in Cortana’s program and brought out a version compatible with Google’s operating system. The tweaked version is very much similar to Cortana, but has some limitations. The hackers admit that the project isn’t that impressive and requires users to stay online for work. The reason being, even though it is running on Android hardware, it is still communicating with Microsoft’s back-end servers with the ported interface. To cut it short, you cannot use it to integrate with Android devices like Cortana does with Windows. OrangeSec used combinations of hardware proxies, custom SSL certificates and DNS spoofing for making this project work out. For now, Portaña can communicate in Italian only.

OrangeSec unveiled their mod at the Droidcon 2015 and admitted it to be a concept only. Hence, there are lesser chances of OrangeSec coming up with an official release. It is rumoured that Microsoft is planning to bring the voice assistant for both iOS and Android, but it doesn’t seem to happen anytime soon.

Cortana is named after an artificial intelligent (AI) character from the famed video game Halo. The personality of the voice assistant is also derived from the AI companion of the game. Cortana also offers usual voice-assistance features like setting reminders and calendar, weather and traffic information, writing notes and messages.

The generation of voice assistants kicked off with Apple’s Siri, back with the release of iPhone 4S in 2011. Microsoft soon followed by launching its very own Cortana on Windows 10 PC and smartphones. Meanwhile, Cortana is officially limited to Windows Phone.

April 20, 2015
Thanks to Massive Demand, Apple Working to Accelerate its Smartwatch Production

Seems like Apple itself was dubious about the success of its first wearable, and ordered production of a limited number of Watch units. The demand of the Apple Watch, as forecasted by the US tracking firm Slice Intelligence, hit almost one million on its first day of pre-order, which outstrips the supply of the watch. As per Reuters, the consumer electronics giant is likely to speed up the production of the Apple Watch to meet the towering demand.

Analysts have predicted that Apple could see a total of 2.3 million to 4 million sales by June end. Meanwhile, Apple didn’t disclose the pre-order details on Monday as part of its usual strategy, and analysts are stating that this may be due to supply shortage.

A demand of 4 million is a great start for a company debuting in the wearables segment. Another Swiss analysis firm USB has revealed that the tech behemoth will sell as much as 16 million watches in FY 2015 ending September and 40 million in FY 2016.

Apple Watch was unveiled at the March 9 event and went up for pre-orders on April 10, and on sale on April 24. World over, the Apple Watch stores saw a huge flock of people patiently waiting to get a closer look at the personal luxury by Apple.

All these speculations point out to the fact that the fate of the Apple Watch was predicted wrongly by critics; they believed the device to be a worthless gadget with aggressive pricing.

April 14, 2015
Apple Watch Hits One Million Pre-Orders on its First Day

According to reports from Slice Intelligence, Apple’s smartwatch kicked off to a solid start by receiving almost a million pre-orders in the US. Slice Intelligence is a firm that tracks and projects US consumer spendings through e-commerce mail receipts. Slice Intelligence projections showed Apple, on its first day of accepting orders, hit a million pre-orders based on 9,080 online shoppers.

Saw the estimates of 1M Apple Watch pre-orders in my inbox. Won’t be surprised by an official Apple statement tomorrow saying 2M.

— Kevin C. Tofel (@KevinCTofel) April 13, 2015

According to Slice reports, 71% of the Apple Watch pre-orders were for the larger 42mm case and 32% of the aluminum Sports Watch. The expensive 19-karat Gold model did not have enough pre-orders to be included in the list. The report also revealed that 28% of the pre-orders included a black Sports band, thus making it the most popular option for its customers. The steel Milanese Loop came in second with 25% after which came the Link Bracelet with 14%.

Apple has not given any verification to the data yet or the official sales figures of the Apple Watch. The smartwatch sales will begin on 24^th April in over nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, UK and the US. The company is encouraging pre-orders, which seem to be quickly selling out. The availability of the watches have been pushed to May or June due to the massive demands.

To read more about the Apple Watch, click here.

April 13, 2015
Due to Massive Demand, Shipping of the Apple Watch May Get Delayed to June

It seems customers pre-ordering the Apple smartwatch will have to wait for a month more before the delivery process kicks off. The watch that went up for pre-order with the promise of in-store pickups or home delivery starting 24th of April, have slipped to June for some models due to the massive demand.

The watch officially goes up for sale on 24th April through online portals and appointments in shops. But as soon as the online pre-orders opened up on Friday, Apple’s website listed June as the shipping month for some models and four-six weeks for the rest.

There are a total of 38 models of the Apple Watch set up for pre-ordering via the company’s official online stores in nine countries, namely, Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, USA and United Kingdom. Even the most expensive variant of the Apple Watch is listed as shipping in June – with some Edition models shown as ‘Out of Stock’.

Apple officially confirmed Apple Watch’s arrival last year in September, when the iPhone 6 was announced. To know more about the wearable, click here.

April 11, 2015
Apple Registers 40% Increase in India Revenue, Hits $1 Billion Mark in FY 2015

We’re sure Apple wouldn’t have thought that the Indian market, which was at the bottom of their priority list, could help increase the revenue of the company to such an extent. The Cupertino-based tech giant has recorded a whopping revenue of $1 billion in India in the fiscal year 2015. The present earning of the firm is 40 percent more than Rs. 4,500 crore of returns registered last year, and is three folds of the what was reported in 2011-12.

Apple hasn’t filed its final revenue details until now, but according to a source at Times of India, the firm can log the same with Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) anytime soon. Experts unfolded that the latest devices, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, have contributed largely to the sales income. With access to unit sales figures over the year and experts remark, Apple’s India revenue is computable. As per an analysis by Cybermedia Research, Apple has sold 1.3 million phones in the fiscal year 2015. Considering the high price of the latest models, it is evident that the company has made a total revenue of over $1 billion in the India market.

At a time when Apple is witnessing increased sales, Samsung is steadily losing its hold over different markets. The Korean electronics giant released a performance report of the last three months, which shows 30.5 percent dip in the profits. This was Samsung’s sixth consecutive year-over-year fall in quarterly profit, where it registered 60% fall in profits over the last quarter.

India is emerging as one of the fastest growing tech markets and a battleground for many top smartphone leaders. Such examples will only encourage tech enterprises to conquer our nation’s market and establish themselves on the Indian soil. Meanwhile, many Chinese firms spread over US and UK are now citing the Indian sub-continent as profitable marketplace for investment, and plan to enter the country soon.

April 8, 2015
Apple’s New Video Tutorials Demonstrate Apple Watch at its Best

Since the day Apple Watch was unveiled, it has received a heavy number of mixed reviews. Some say it is an overpriced device, while others suggest it will change the way the general audience looks at wearables. The Cupertino-based giant has decided to give its final customers a closer look at the Apple Watch and has released four new videos that demonstrate the Apple Watch at its best.

The videos describe how the Apple’s first smart watch can make your day-to-day tasks a lot easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LHdVkPrdRYg

The company recently updated its Apple Watch web page with four new videos. The clips walk the users through several features of the Watch giving a fair idea about how to use it and what it can do. The first one of the four is an introductory clip that says “Welcome to Apple Watch.” The 4:44 minutes video is dedicated to providing an elaborate detail of its hardware and software concepts like Messages, Digital crown, Force Touch and Faces. The video narrates the power of Apple Watch and how it is a must-have accessory for every iPhone user.

The other three videos are comparatively shorter than the introductory video and finishes within 2 minutes. Each of them focuses on one key feature and demonstrates how to customize the watch. The Faces speaks about how with a long press, all the watch faces come up and you can make a selection from a list. Tap any to make it the new face and customise it as you desire like changing hand colours, adding calendar and weather, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=N6ezjg6-0hU

Similarly, Messages and Digital Touch give an insight into the functionality of the other features. Messages give a tour of sending audio and text messages along with numerous emoji options. The Digital Touch caters to your social habits. The side button below the Digital crown gives access to your friends. You can add contacts, send sketches, taps, messages, and heartbeats to your contacts, and of course, you can ring them any time using the Watch.

Meanwhile, Apple has made public only 4 of the videos, while the official web page depicts 7 more guided tours each with “Coming Soon” tag. These include Phone Calls, Siri, Maps, Music, Activity, Apple Pay and workout. Apple Watch will go on sale on 24th of this month. Needless to say, we’re extremely excited to get our hands on Apple’s first wearable.

You can check out all the videos here.

April 4, 2015
Apple Might Bring Facial Recognition Technology to its iDevices, But With a Twist

We’ve seen Apple deliver some of the best and secure technologies to its customers. Its TouchID, a fingerprint recognition feature, has laid the path to create a feature which makes phone locks reliable. Now, the Cupertino-based firm has plans to embed a simpler but effective technology to its devices for the same purpose – it’s called face recognition.

According to a patent recently granted to Apple by the U.S. Patent Office, the new-found invention will lock the device if the user’s face is no longer present. The granted patent reads, “In the embodiment of the invention, a mobile device is configured to automatically lock based on determining that a user’s face is no longer present in the image captured by the device’s built-in camera.”

It’s evident from the statement that the device will keep snapping pictures at a definite interval of time to check if the owner is working on the device. If the user doesn’t appear in the pictures, the device will automatically lock. This means if your iPhone is kept motionless for a certain period, it will lock on its own.

The patent also mentions that with this technology, iOS device users don’t need to type in the password or touch the screen. The handset would unlock through a selfie. This also means that if your phone reaches in the wrong hands, the intruder would not be able to access your device’s content.

The innovation is already present in Android smartphones, but it doesn’t keep a tab on the user’s activity continuously. Apple’s facial recognition technology looks promising and might arrive in the new gen iPhone, iPad or even the rumoured Apple Car.

April 1, 2015