Archive for January, 2015
18% of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Users Would 'Definitely' Buy Apple Watch
According to the latest survey conducted by a finance company Credit Suisse, 18% of the current iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners would "definitely" purchase the long-anticipated Apple Watch, which is expected to hit the store shelves this March. 11% of the questioned said they would "probably" buy the upcoming wearable device and another 18% informed they would "definitely not" purchase the smartwatch. What is interesting is that 27% of users either say they would "maybe" spend their money on the gadget, or "probably not".
Next-Gen iPhone to Feature Dual-Lens Camera and 'Force Touch' - Rumors
According to the recent rumors shared by Taiwanese insiders, the next-generation iPhone may feature a new dual-lens camera and the support of the so-called "Force Touch" technology used in the upcoming Apple Watch. The technology makes it possible to recognize different pressure-based gestures. It should be noted, however, that these rumors haven't yet been officially confirmed, so I suggest that you should take them with a few pinches of salt.
Quanta Computer Starts Production of 12-inch MacBook Air
According to the latest report from DigiTimes, Apple supplier called Quanta Computer is currently ramping up the production of the widely-rumored 12-inch MacBook Air. The reporters claim that the release of the new laptop will take place in the first quarter of this year. This goes in line with the recent rumors about the device.
Apple Releases Another iOS 8.2 Beta to Developers
Apple on Monday released the long-anticipated iOS 8.2 beta to developers for testing. This iOS version includes Xcode 6.2 beta 4 and WatchKit SDK, which means that the developers now have an opportunity to create apps and notifications for Apple’s wearable device that is expected to hit the store shelves in March. The release of iOS 8.2 comes nearly a month after the release of the third beta and about two months after the release of the very first iOS 8.2 version for developers.
Apple Begins Testing iOS 9 - Rumors
According to the reports published by several reliable sources independently from one another, the guys from Cupertino have recently begun testing the very first build of iOS 9. The reports are based on data about web traffic from devices with the new version of Apple's mobile operating system on board.
Apple Sold Nearly 500 000 iPhones in India in Q4 2014
According to the latest report published by a research firm called Counterpoint Research and first shared by Economic Times, in the last quarter of 2014, the guys from Cupertino managed to sold half a million iPhone units in India. I must admit, it is an impressive result, especially if to take into account the fact that in 2013, Apple marketed about a million smartphones in this country. Latest result indicates that the larger form factor was really something users around the world had been expecting for a long period of time. Apart from that, strong sales proved that in 2014, there were more people in India ready to purchase such device as the iPhone.
Apple Adds Games for Kids Section to App Store
Apple has today added a new category to its App Store. It is called Games for Kids and as you might have understood, it highlights best games for the youngest users. To make it easier for children and their parent choose apps, the guys from Cupertino have also divided all the games in the section into three sub-categories based on the age of users. Thus, there are apps for those who are 5 years old or under, for those who are 6-8 years old and for those who are 9-11 years old.
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, which means I’ll talk about the most interesting posts of the past seven days. If you have a few minutes, take a look. I’m sure you’ll find something worth your attention. Let’s begin.
Apple Became Second Most Popular Camera Brand on Flickr in 2014
Flickr, one of the most popular photo sharing websites, has recently released a report on the most popular camera brands of the last year. According to this report, the most popular brands of 2014 included Canon with 13.4% of photos taken by cameras of this manufacturer, Apple with 9.6%, Nikon with 9.3%, Samsung with 5.6% and Sony with 4.2%. This is how the Top-5 rating looks like.
Apple Won't Stop Production of iPod shuffle, Recent Shortages Are Caused by Suppliers
A number of Apple Stores across the USA have encountered with iPod shuffle shortages this week. This has caused rumors suggesting that Apple will no longer produce the smallest and the cheapest portable music player in its lineup. As it turned out, this rumors don’t make sense. The guys from Cupertino have no plans to stop the manufacture of the iPod shuffle. This week’s shortage is a result of supplier changes, which have temporarily stopped the production process.
iOS 8.1.3 to Be Released Next Week and Include Minor Improvements
According to the latest reports from reliable sources, a minor iOS 8.1.3 update is currently in the works. It won’t contain noticeable stability improvements or design changes, however, it will fix some bugs and slightly enhance the overall performance of Apple’s mobile operating system. As to the public release, it may take place as soon as next week, since some retail employees have already begun testing the latest version of firmware.
Experts Found Security Flaw in OS X Spotlight Search
A new OS X bug has been recently discovered by German security researchers. This software flaw allows spammers and hackers get access to IP addresses and other sensitive information through the Spotlight search feature of OS X.
Image Showing Manufacturing Mold for iPad Pro Back Panel Appears Online
A new photo showing something very similar to the mold for the production of the long-anticipated larger iPad Pro back panel appeared on a Chinese microblogging website Weibo. While there’s no way to confirm the legitimacy of the image, the production mold depicted on it may be indeed for Apple’s tablet with an enormous 12-inch display. Still, it can be an unofficial mold used to create iPad Pro dummies and physical mockups of the device.
Samsung Becomes Main Apple Watch Component Supplier
According to the latest report from DigiTimes, Samsung has recently won the rights to produce an essential component for the widely-rumored Apple Watch. This component is called the S1 system-in-a-package and it includes such important parts of the wearable device as the processor, mobile DRAM, NAND flash and some other chips. As you might have understood, the S1 package is the main component of the Apple Watch.
Apple to Launch Apple Pay in Canada in March?
Several weeks after the rumor about Apple’s plans to launch Apple Pay in the UK in the first half of 2015, a new one appeared on the Net, which suggests that the guys from Cupertino are currently thinking about the launch of the NFC-based payments service in Canada in the near future. In fact, reliable sources believe that the debut of the new service will take place in March.