Archive for 2014
iPad Air 2 to Be Released in October, Updated Retina iPad mini to Come Later?
According to what Taiwan's Commercial Times reporters write, the second-generation iPad Air may be introduced as soon as in October. The journalists expect the tablet to enter mass-production in September.
First iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Benchmark Results
Following the release and record-breaking first weekend sales, AnandTech experts took both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus for testing and benchmarked them. Moreover, the newly-released handsets were compared to the iPhone 5s and a number of rival handsets including the HTC One (E8), Motorola Moto X, Samsung Galaxy S5, Google Nexus 5 and some others. If you one of those people, who like Apple and its products, you will be pleased with the results of the benchmarks.
Apple Announces Record-Breaking First Weekend iPhone Sales
Apple on Monday announced that the sales of its 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus in the opening weekend topped ten million units. That is a new record for the guys from Cupertino. Apple managed to break the last year’s record of nine million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units sold during the first three days. What an impressive result!
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Fail Drop Tests
Immediately after the start of sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in several countries, first drop and crash tests began to appear on the Internet. The bad news is that both handsets are not doing well in these ultimate durability tests. While they somehow manage to remain intact when dropped on the side and back, they have no chances when dropped on the face. The smaller iPhone seems to demonstrate slightly better results, but in general, both handsets can’t be called the strongest devices on the market. Take a look at the video and you will understand what I mean.
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, so it's time for me to tell you about the most interesting posts of the past seven days. Let's take a look at them.
Siri Now Recognizes Music Using Shazam
You have probably heard the rumor, according to which Siri was supposed to “learn” to identify music tracks using Shazam functionality. Well, looks like the guys from Cupertino indeed integrated such a useful feature into their virtual assistant and it is now available for all the iOS 8 users.
Leave a comment, read comments [4]
A8 Processor Inside of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Is Manufactured by TSMC
Long before the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus release, a rumor appeared on the Internet that suggested that these devices will be equipped by a processor manufactured by a firm called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). According to the latest report from Chipworks, the dual-core 64-bit Apple A8 processor is indeed manufactured by TSMC.
4.7-inch iPhone 6 Teardown by iFixit [Video]
Several days after the official release of Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone 6, iFixit experts have performed its teardown, which revealed that the handset is indeed equipped with the next-generation 64-bit A8 processor and M8 motion coprocessor, 1334x750 pixels display with pixel density of 326ppi, 8-megapixel rear and 1.2-megapixel front camera, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 as well as with NFC and LTE chips.
5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus Teardown by iFixit [Video]
Fixit team has recently performed a scrupulous teardown of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. According to the video of the teardown and the images showing the fully-disassembled larger iPhone 6, the guys from Cupertino equipped the handset with a dual-core 64-bit A8 processor, M8 motion coprocessor, 1GB of RAM, 1920x1080 pixels display with pixel density of 401ppi, 8-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, 1.2-megapixel front camera as well as with a wide number of sensors, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and LTE chips.
Apple Officially Releases OS X Mavericks 10.9.5
Aside from new iOS 8, the guys from Cupertino have recently released OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 to users worldwide. The release comes after long weeks and even months of testing. The latest version of OS X can boast of a wide number of stability improvements and bug fixes and is recommended for all users.
Apple Officially Releases iOS 8 to Users Worldwide
Apple on Wednesday released iOS 8 to users worldwide. As it was expected, the new mobile operating system brings lots of improvements and bug fixes. Apart from that, it is far more secured and efficient and can boast lots of new features. The most noticeable among them are the widely-rumored Health app, QuickType, the support of third-party keyboards, updated Mail, Photos, Camera and Safari and the apps like Continuity, Handoff, AirDrop, Instant Hotspot, which were previously unavailable for users.
Two-Factor Authentication Is Now Available on iCloud.com
Apple has just enabled its two-factor authentication system on iCloud.com. This means that the access to popular iCloud.com apps like Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, Pages, Numbers, Keynote or Mail is restricted until the user enters a special verification code received from Apple.
First iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Hands-On Videos
Although both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus haven’t yet hit the store shelves, a Korean website UNDERkg somehow managed to get two smartphones and post two hands-on videos to YouTube. They are available below, so you may take a look and say what do you think about Apple’s recently released iPhones. But before doing this, let’s talk about the handsets shown in the clips.
Important Note for iOS 7 Users Ahead of iOS 8 Release
On Wednesday, September 17th Apple is expected to release iOS 8. This means that there only several hours left for those who need to restore their jailbroken iPhones to iOS 7.1.2 without losing jailbreak. After iOS 8 is released, the guys from Cupertino will no longer be signing iOS 7.1.2. In this case, if a user tries to restore the device using iTunes, he will be forced to update to iOS 8.
Leave a comment, read comments [2]
NFC Chip Found in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Will Work Only With Apple Pay?
Although both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus can boast of the NFC chip, it appears that the guys from Cupertino plan to use it only for making their payments service Apple Pay workable. Other possible ways of utilising the Near Field Communication technology won't be supported, which means that the developers won't get access to the iPhone's NFC antenna and won't be able to create third-party apps based on the advanced communication technology. The information was shared by Apple's spokeswoman, so I guess we can believe it.