Archive for November, 2015
Apple to Sell 6 Million Apple Watch Units During Holiday Quarter - Analyst
According to the latest report from Daniel Ives of FBR & Co., Apple may sell as many as 6 million Apple Watch units in the holiday quarter of 2015. The prediction is based on the retail Apple store sales during the Black Friday holiday.
Apple May Introduce New 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air at WWDC
Apple is reportedly working on a two updated MacBook Air models. According to what reliable supply chain sources claim, there will be two laptops with 13-inch and 15-inch screens. In terms of design, both laptops should remain similar to the existing models and get a thin all-aluminum body. There are no details about the 11-inch MacBook Air model, so looks like the company is planning to stop manufacturing this device and focus its attention on the 12-inch MacBook, first introduced earlier this year.
Top 10 Stories of the Week
It is Sunday today, which means it is time to tell you about the most interesting posts of the past seven days. Most of the articles are connected with the rumors about the next-generation iPhone and tell us about possible specs for the device. There are also several posts about Apple’s rival platforms as well as apps and tweaks worth your attention.
Cortana for iOS Becomes Available for Beta Testers
Microsoft has just made its virtual assistant Cortana available for a number of iOS beta testers. The personal assistant developed specifically for Windows Phone platform is expected to debut on iOS sometime soon and become a serious rival for Apple’s Siri and Google Now.
Most Holiday Shoppers Use iPhones and iPads to Purchase Goods Online
According to the latest report from a marketing research firm Custora, 78.3% of all e-commerce orders over Thanksgiving Day in the United States were made from iPhones and iPads making Apple’s iOS the main platform among the buyers. If to speak about Android users, they accounted for 21.5% of all online orders. The information about online shopping activity is based on data from more than 200 retailers, 500 million customers and $100 billion in revenue, the analysts claim.
Nightmode9 Jailbreak Tweak Brings Night Mode to iOS Interface
There’s a big number of people using jailbroken iPhones and iPads. It’s quite obvious that there’re lots of benefits one can enjoy while using a jailbroken device and probably one of the most valuable is the ability to tweak the settings of the gadget and improve it in order to fit the needs of the owner.
Using the traditional iOS bright color theme may be quite inconvenient and in some cases even dangerous for people who have poor eyesight. So far, the only possible way of minimizing the negative impact of bright colors was enabling the grayscale mode in the Accessibility settings, but now, thanks to the jailbreak tweak called Nightmode9 it is possible to turn off the lights and make your device in something similar to the night mode available in certain applications for reading.
iPhone 7 Won’t Feature 3.5mm Headphone Jack - Rumor
According to the latest report from people familiar with the matter, Apple may replace the 3.5mm headphone jack on the next-generation iPhone with a multi-purpose Lightning connector. Apart from that, the new phone called presumably the iPhone 7 may come with redesigned EarPods supporting the new output method. Such rumors have been shared by a Japanese website Mac Otakara. The website has a good track record when it comes to Apple gadgets, so it is a pretty reliable source of information.
iPhones May Soon Become Capable of Detecting Touches While Wearing Gloves
According to the latest patent filing published earlier this week by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple might be working on a technology that would allow iPhones to detect touch input performed while wearing gloves. Currently, using iPhones in winter is quite a tricky and inconvenient task as the displays of these devices, as well as of iPads and iPod touch units, don’t respond to users wearing gloves made of fabric, leather or any other material. The patent application is entitled “Glove Touch Detection” and it was filed back in 2014.
Take a Look at This iPhone Concept with Slide Out Physical Keyboard
We all know Apple is expected to release new iPhone or iPhones next year, however, we don’t know how these handset may look like. This was probably the main reason for CURVED/labs to create a beautiful and a bit surprising iPhone concept. The creators call this device the iPhone 6k and one special thing about it is that the smartphone can boast of a slide out physical keyboard similar to the one that BlackBerry Priv has. A short clip demonstrating the concept is available below, take a look and let me know what you think about the gadget.
Apple Releases New Christmas-Themed Ad [Video]
Apple has just released a new commercial entitled Someday At Christmas featuring Stevie Wonder Andra Day. The 90-second video shows Wonder and his family members as well as Andra Day singing a song from 1967 called "Someday At Christmas".
The short commercial is available either below, or on Apple’s official YouTube channel, so you can watch it anytime.
Apple to Switch to OLED iPhone Displays in 2018 - Report
Apple is reportedly planning to start using OLED displays in iPhones in 2018. Such rumor has been shared by a Japanese website Nikkei. As noted by the reporters, the company has already begun notifying its suppliers about the switch to a new technology so that they can adjust their production lines or find new partners. Apple has been using LCD screens in its smartphones since the release of the very first iPhone in 2007.
JCET to Supply Apple with SiP Modules in 2016 - Rumor
According to the latest report from DigiTimes reporters, a firm called Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET) has reportedly received orders to produce SiP (system-in-package) modules for Apple in 2016. The Asian manufacturer also plans to spend $200 million to expand the existing production lines in the near future and this is another indication of possible partnership with the Cupertino-based company.
Apple Confirms Acquisition of Firm Called Faceshift
Apple has officially confirmed the acquisition of the firm called Faceshift. The employees of this company develop technologies for real-time motion capture and have previously worked with different game studios and other companies interested in advanced capturing of facial expressions for either developing games or other projects.
iFixit Team Performs Teardown of iPad Pro Smart Keyboard
Following the teardown of the Apple Pencil, the iFixit team has just recently performed a teardown of the Smart Keyboard for the long-awaited 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The experts have found out that thanks to using special materials and fabric, the accessory is extremely durable as well as water and stain-resistant. The drawback is that the keyboard can’t be disassembled and repaired without being damaged and made totally unusable. According to iFixit experts, the repairability score is 0 out 10, where 10 is the easiest to repair.
Apple to Launch Apple Pay in China in February - Report
According to the latest report from Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, Apple plans to launch Apple Pay in China as soon as in February of 2016. The Cupertino-based tech giant has reportedly signed deals with four major banks in China and now focuses its attention on the software side of the Apple Pay launch.