Apple

Despite rear fingerprint sensor, Consumer Reports ranks Galaxy S8 higher than iPhone 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 14, 2017

Influential US magazine Consumer Reports today published their latest smartphone rankings. After weeks of “rigorous testing”, the organization has ranked Samsung's new Galaxy S8 Plus, which released in late April, higher than Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices, which have been on the market for eight months now.

The testing procedure took into account popular user features such as design, battery life, cameras, display quality and more. The top spot was previously occupied by the earlier-generation Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.

As for Apple's smartphone, Consumer Reports ranked iPhone 7 Plus fifth.

Here are the top five smartphones, according to Consumer Reports:

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge LG G6 Apple iPhone 7 Plus

Despite the latest Galaxies not having a dual-camera setup, Consumer Reports doesn't think consumers will miss the depth of field photography and optical zoom features found on iPhone 7 Plus.

“A few top-end cameras, including the iPhone 7 Plus and the LG G6, have dual rear-facing cameras, to enhance either zoom or wide-angle photography,” notes the report.

“The Samsung phones haven’t gone that route yet—and we don’t think they suffer for it.”

The latest Galaxy phones have “some of the best smartphone battery life we've seen,” they added.

Consumer Reports testers found the latest Galaxies' curved AMOLED display with the drastically reduced bezels at the top and the bottom both pretty to look at and functional, with a bigger screen area in the same-size device.

That doesn't necessarily make the flagship Samsung phone comfortable to hold in one's hand.

“Even on the smaller model, it will be hard for most users to reach the upper regions of the screen with their thumb,” said lead phone tester Richard Fisco.

Consumer Reports' biggest gripe with the new Galaxy S8 family? An “awkwardly” positioned fingerprint sensor on the back.

Here's what they had to say about it:

The fingerprint scanner on the back is awkwardly placed. You can use the scanner for unlocking the phone, and that works well. But it's right next to the rear camera, and we found ourselves repeatedly poking around to locate it—and smudging the camera lens in the process.

Consumer Reports is, of course, the same publication that lost some of its credibility by first not recommending iPhone 4 due to Antennagate only to change its mind a few weeks later. The fact they're now pitting the latest devices from Samsung and LG against Apple's 2016 smartphone—which will be superseded by iPhone 8 in a three month's time—isn't helping either.

10.5″ iPad Pro teardown finds 4GB of RAM, Toshiba flash storage & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 14, 2017

A teardown analysis of Apple's new 10.5-inch iPad Pro was shared earlier today by repair experts at iFixit. According to the analysis, the new iPad Pro is essentially a scaled-down, streamlined version of its 12.9-inch predecessor when it comes to the internal layout.

Considering the 12.9-inch iPad Pro had a completely new internal layout relative to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro is not just a scaled up version of the 9.7-incher.

“One move we’re particularly happy with is the retention of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s danger-free display cable placement,” notes the analysis.

Here's an excerpt from the teardown analysis:

Apple put the display cables right down the center, out of harm’s way. We’ve seen this arrangement in an iPad only once before, in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, and it appears Apple finally managed to unify the Pro line around this somewhat more symmetrical design.

As for the device's ProMotion display with 120Hz refresh rate, double the other iPads, it requires double the number of connecting cables on the display.

120 Hz is a blisteringly fast refresh rate for this many pixels, which is probably why it needs four (!) connecting cables. (Its ginormous older brother got by with just two.)

They found a 30.8-watt-hour battery inside, a slight downsize from the 38.8-watt-hour battery powering the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but an upgrade from the 27.91-watt-hour battery in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The battery package is pinned under the logic board and firmly adhered in place, lacking the 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s removal tabs.

The iFixit team was able to identify 4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR4 RAM from Micron Technology, Toshiba-manufactured flash storage and more. The only other iOS device with 4GB of RAM is the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro still has 2GB of RAM.

The display cable bracket is secured using Phillips screws rather than the three-point screws used in iPhone 7. iFixit also noted that their Wi-Fi-only model had plastic blocks where the antennae might be found in an LTE model.

“We're speculating that they add support to the display assembly, as opposed to the usual empty space seen in earlier iPads,” noted iFixit.

Because of Apple's use of strong adhesives for the display, logic board, speakers, ribbon cables and other components, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro earned a repairability score of a rather low 2 out of 10 on iFixit's scale.

iWork apps gain editing improvements, 500 shapes & more in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 13, 2017

Apple's iWork productivity suite was updated today on Mac App Store and App Store with several new editing features and other improvements available across iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac devices.

For starters, Pages, Numbers and Keynote for Mac, along with their iOS counterparts, now come with a brand new library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes that you can readily use in your documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Across all the iWork apps, users can now reply to comments and join threaded conversations, making collaborative editing even easier than before, while new auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing.

In Numbers, the new Insert Stock Quote feature and the Stock and Currency functions let you get data from the previous market day’s close. Keynote now lets you scroll like a pro on your Mac's trackpad with new pan and zoom options and your presenter notes can be edited while displaying slides in Light Table view.

Here's the full list of new features, fixes and enhancements in Pages 6.2, Numbers 4.2 and Keynote 7.2 for Mac, iPhone and iPad listed in release notes accompanying these downloads:

What's new in Pages 6.2 for Mac Enhance your documents using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Add linked text boxes so text easily flows from one place to another New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing Export documents as fixed layout ePub books Change margins, headers, footers and paper size while collaborating Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic languages

Learn more about the new Pages for Mac features on Apple's website.

What's new in Numbers 4.2 for Mac Enhance your spreadsheets using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Support for print preview in collaborative spreadsheets New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing The Insert Stock Quote feature and the Stock and Currency functions now return data from the previous market day’s close

Learn more about the new Numbers for Mac features on Apple's website.

What's new in Keynote 7.2 for Mac Enhance your presentations using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing Scroll anywhere with new pan and zoom options Edit presenter notes while displaying slides in Light Table view Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic languages The Stock and Currency functions now return data from the previous market day’s close

Learn more about the new Keynote for Mac features on Apple's website.

What's new in Pages 3.2 for iOS Enhance your documents using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Add linked text boxes so text easily flows from one place to another New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing New page thumbnail view allows you to easily navigate your document Export documents as fixed layout ePub books Change margins, headers, footers and paper size while collaborating

Learn more about the new Pages for iOS features on Apple's website.

What's new in Numbers 3.2 for iOS Enhance your spreadsheets using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Reply to comments and join threaded conversations Support for print preview in collaborative spreadsheets New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing The Insert Stock Quote feature and the Stock and Currency functions now return data from the previous market day’s close

Learn more about the new Numbers for iOS features on Apple's website.

What's new in Keynote 3.2 for iOS Enhance your presentations using a library of over 500 professionally drawn shapes Easily rearrange your slides with the new Light Table view Edit presenter notes while viewing slides Reply to comments and join threaded conversations New auto-correction and text replacement options save time while typing Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic languages

Learn more about the new Keynote for iOS features on Apple's website.

These apps used to be paid downloads, but Apple recently made them free for all users.

Grab Pages, Numbers and Keynote for free from Mac App Store.

Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iPhone and iPad are available free on App Store.

Google hires veteran Apple chip architect to work on Pixel phones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Veteran Apple chip architect Manu Gulati is now a Lead SoC Architect at Google, reveals his LinkedIn profile which states that he started in his new Google role in May.

According to Variety, Gulati has been tasked with leading the effort to build highly optimized chips for Google's Pixel smartphones in-house.

He had been spearheading Apple’s own chip developments for close to eight years.

By hiring an industry expert, Google is hoping to distance itself from the rest of the pack. Like other flagship Android devices, Pixel smartphones use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 processor.

This makes it harder for Google to differentiate Pixel devices from other Android phones.

“In addition to Gulati’s hire, Google is now looking to hire additional chip experts to tightly control future Pixel hardware,” Variety learned from sources familiar with the hire.

A custom chip would allow Google to develop a more secure smartphone with better camera features, advanced biometric authentication, optimized power consumption and so forth.

iPhone 7, for example, is six times faster at image recognition than Google’s Pixel phone because its 64-bit A10 Fusion chip has a highly-optimized Image Signal Processor.

And with iOS 11, Apple is integrating features like Metal 2, machine learning and augmented reality directly into a phone’s main chip, which would have been impossible if the company hadn't closely controlled chip design.

For those wondering, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, oversees the company's semiconductor and wireless teams, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.

“Johny has built one of the world’s strongest and most innovative teams of silicon and technology engineers, overseeing breakthrough custom silicon and hardware technologies including batteries, application processors, storage controllers, sensors silicon, display silicon and other chipsets across Apple’s entire product line,” according to his bio page on the Apple Leadership website.

Johny joined Apple in 2008 to lead development of the A4, the first Apple-designed system on a chip powering iPhone 4 and the original iPad.

Apple's semiconductor team is comprised of engineers who worked at startups like P.A. Semi that Apple acquired after releasing the original iPhone. Apple's logic was simple: it wanted to take its chip destiny into its own hands to tightly integrate the hardware and software, optimize device performance and power consumption and enable hardware features simply not possible on devices that use off-the-shel parts that are readily available to all vendors.

Incredibly, the strategy paid off big time.

Even the last-generation A9 processor inside iPhone 6s smokes competition in single-core performance, for instance. The A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7 family is even faster and Apple's latest chip, the A10X Fusion inside the new iPad Pros, features 30 percent faster CPU performance and forty percent faster graphics than the previous generation.

Tim Cook confirms Apple working on autonomous driving software

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 13, 2017

Project Titan is officially about autonomous driving software, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The video was posted today, marking the company's public admission regarding true purpose of the secretive project. Laying out exactly what Apple is up to in the automotive market, Cook said their current efforts are concentrated on self-driving technology.

Here's what he said (edited for clarity):

We’re focusing on autonomous systems. It’s a core technology that we view as very important and probably one of the most difficult AI projects to work on. There is a major disruption looming there. You’ve got kind of three vectors of change happening generally in the same time frame. If you've driven an electric car, it's actually a marvelous experience.

The “three vectors” Cook refers to are as follows:

Self-driving technology Electric vehicles Ride-hailing

As you may have suspected, he ultimately declined to say whether or not Apple might eventually manufacture its own car. “We’ll see where it takes us,” Cook added.

“We’re not really saying from a product point of view what we will do.”

Watch the full video below.

Ever since rumors began swirling that Project Titan involves a self-driving vehicle, there's been no shortage of reports analyzing whether or not Apple should build its own car.

In October of last year, Bloomberg reported that Project Titan had refocused from building an actual vehicle to developing autonomous self-driving software.

Whether or not the fruits of Apple's labor will ever see the light of day in CarPlay, or perhaps as a standalone new app for autonomous driving, remains to be seen.

New iPads hit Apple retail stores around the world

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 13, 2017

If you're in the market for a shiny new tablet with an Apple logo on it, the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model and a second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro are now available for purchase at company-owned retails stores around the world.

The tablets were announced at last week's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose and feature Apple's in-house designed A10X Fusion chip, Apple's brightest display ever with True Tone technology, a whopping 120Hz refresh rate they're calling ProMotion and other features.

Along with the new tablets, Apple is also offering a leather case for Apple Pencil which prevents rolling and broken tips.

You can buy your iPad either at a nearby Apple Store or purchase it online, via the “Buy iPad Pro” webpage, and have it optionally delivered to a nearby Apple Store for pickup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOtaLAFngmg

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The new 10.5-incher is available from $649 and its bigger brother starts at $799.

Add an extra $130 if you'd like an LTE-enabled model. The devices come in 64/256/512GB capacities and in Gold, Silver and Space Gray color finishes. The new 10.5-inch iPad Pro also comes in Rose Gold, unlike the 12.9-incher.

It's worth keeping in mind that these new tablets ship with iOS 10.3. iOS 11, which really unlocks the full iPad potential, will release as a free update for everyone this fall.

Are you planning on upgrading your tablet computing to one of the latest iPads?

Let us know in the comments section below.

Facebook could let you subscribe to news publications directly from the app

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2017

Facebook is working on a new feature to permit users to subscribe to news publications directly from its mainland mobile app. According to a report this morning from The Wall Street Journal, many details remain up in the air as discussions are currently underway.

The company is allegedly leaning toward a model that would let you read certain articles for free every month, before being prompted to pay. There's a catch: Facebook is said to limit this to the stories published natively through its Instant Articles service.

With that in mind, it may be no coincidence at all that Facebook recently launched new tools to help publishers make their Instant Articles compatible with the Apple News format as well as with Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages system.

This new functionality could roll out by the end of 2017, sources said. People familiar with the matter pointed out that the upcoming feature has long been requested by publishers.

While users currently can follow different news organizations, the rumored feature would permit them to use their credit card information on file with Facebook to directly subscribe to a news publication and have any subscriber-only content delivered to them through the app.

The development, if true, should pose some additional challenges to Google News platform as more and more people turn to Facebook for their daily news.

Image: Facebook's recent redesign of Trending pages.

New leaks give the best glimpse yet of iPhone 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2017

We've seen our fair share of alleged iPhone 8 dummies, schematics and technical drawings, but not a single physical component has leaked out of factories in Asia—until today.

A pair of images showing front and back phone panels, shared in a Reddit post today, may give us our first look at Apple's rumored designs for the OLED-based iPhone 8 as well as the iterative LCD-based iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates.

One of the images “confirms” that iPhone 8 could feature a vertically stacked dual-lens camera out the back, with an LED flash built directly into the bulge. The alleged iPhone 8 front panel shows a nearly full-screen design, with just a tiny bar at the top.

There's also a cutout near the top for the front-facing camera and the earpiece.

The Home button, at least a physical one, is nowhere to be seen, neither on the front nor on the back side. The alleged iPhone 8 front plate has virtually no bezels and appears to use protective glass that's slightly curved at the edges.

The other photograph shows these purported iPhone 8 parts pictured next to the alleged components for the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s and the 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus.

Those phones are said to feature a refined iPhone 7 design.

For what it's worth, the rear shells shown on that photo appear to be made from glass. Eagle-eyed readers could point out that KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that all new iPhones this year will feature glass backs to support wireless charging.

The images are said to have been obtained from a case vendor that purportedly got them from a glass supplier in China. Apple has reportedly prototyped more than ten different iPhone designs this year, but it remains to be seen if these images represent the handsets that Apple will ship this fall or one of the abandoned designs.

What say you, fail or?

iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra automatically update your Apple ID to use Two-Factor Authentication

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2017

If you haven't upgraded your Apple ID from Apple's older Two-Step Verification system to the more secure Two-Factor Authentication, iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra will do that for your when you install either operating system on your devices.

Apple communicated the change in an email to customers with Two-Step Verification enabled for their Apple ID. Here's the full text of the email communique, as obtained by MacRumors:

If you install the iOS 11 or macOS High Sierra public betas this summer and meet the basic requirements, your Apple ID will be automatically updated to use two-factor authentication. This is our most advanced, easy-to-use account security, and it's required to use some of the latest features of iOS, macOS, and iCloud.

Once updated, you'll get the same extra layer of security you enjoy with two-step verification today, but with an even better user experience. Verification codes will be displayed on your trusted devices automatically whenever you sign in, and you will no longer need to keep a printed recovery key to make sure you can reset a forgotten password.

Significantly improving the security of your Apple ID, Two-Factor Authentication requires both your Apple ID password and a one-time code when you sign in to a new device or browser with your Apple ID.

TUTORIAL: How to protect your Apple ID with Two-Factor Authentication

Unlike Two-Step Verification, which sends a six-digit verification code via SMS, Two-Factor Authentication is deeply integrated in iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, watchOS 2 and tvOS or later and features a mechanism that automatically delivers verification codes via push notifications to all trusted devices registered to a given Apple ID.

If you're not using either system to protect your Apple ID, you're wholeheartedly recommended to enroll your devices in Two-Factor Authentication. If your account isn't eligible for two-factor authentication, you can still use two-step verification to protect your Apple ID information.

One way or another, anyone installing Apple's latest OS updates this fall shall be asked to upgrade their Apple ID to the more modern Two-Factor Authentication system. Two-Factor Authentication is available in more than a hundred countries, listed in Apple's support document.

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Apple allows Indian retailers to discount older iPhone models to boost sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2017

Apple's smartphone market share of the Indian market barely hovers above three percent because its aspirational handset is too expensive for many average consumer in the 1.32 billion people market.

But the Cupertino giant is taking steps to rectify the situation and has now permitted local retailers to slash prices of older-generation models such as iPhone 5s, which make up more than half of Apple’s shipments to the subcontinent.

Bloomberg reported Monday that Apple is now letting stores and online retailers such as Amazon.com and Flipkart slash iPhone prices.

iPlanet, a local reseller, prices iPhone 5s at 20,400 rupees, which works out to about $300. Apple no longer sells iPhone 5s in the US, but the most similar model, iPhone SE, starts at $400 in the US, without taxes or fees.

The device was listed at 15,999 rupees during an Amazon sale in May, or about $250. Retailer Flipkart lists iPhone 6 for 24,990 rupees, or approximately $390.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Besides discounts, retailers have been pitching iPhones with cash-back offers, product exchanges, and monthly payment plans, all aimed at making it easier for young Indians to spend a month’s earnings or more on an iPhone 5s.

Apple is hiring an undisclosed number of 'affordability managers' in the country to negotiate with banks and other lenders on behalf of potential buyers.

Older devices accounted for a Counterpoint Research-estimatd 55 percent of the 2.6 million handsets Apple shipped to India in 2016. “As the premium segment grows in India, Apple wants a larger slice of it,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at market researcher Gartner.

“The bigger the iOS base, the brighter Apple’s future in India,” he added.

India is the smartphone industry’s fastest-growing market and an increasingly important market for Apple. The company has now started assembling iPhone SE devices in India via its contract manufacturer Wistron and is seeking additional concessions from the local government in an effort to boost local iPhone production.

The Wistron manufacturing facility is currently assembling “a couple thousand” iPhone SE units as a trial run, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tim Cook & Co. are predicted to officially bring Apple Online Store to India and enable Apple Pay transactions in the country.

In March, the iPhone maker opened the iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in the Yelahanka area of Bengaluru, which is the home of India’s startup scene. The populous country has some of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world.

Samsung predicted to beat Intel, become #1 chip vendor this summer

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2017

Samsung's chip-making unit has been making some great strides in the past few years and now the South Korean chaebol is predicted to overtake Intel and become the world's top producer of computer chips. Should the prediction come true, this will be a major blow to Intel, which has been the leading chip maker in terms of sales for 26 years since 1991.

According to researchers with NH Investment & Securities, cited in a report by The Korea Herald, Samsung could overtake Intel as soon as this summer due to the rise in number of data centers and expanded demand of solid state drives.

Intel captured an estimated thirteen percent of global chip sales in the first quarter of 2016 versus Samsung's 9.1 percent share. But during the March quarter of 2017, Intel took up 14.7 percent while Samsung held a comparable figure of 13.4 percent.

“Starting the March-June period, Samsung's global market share of chips will surpass the 15-percent mark to outpace its rival, helped by its improved competitiveness in the memory segment,” the report added.

Apple no longer uses Samsung's chip fabrication plants to build its in-house designed processors for iOS devices, but iPhones and iPads still use Samsung-built flash memory modules and the iPhone 7's LTE modem is being dual-sourced from Intel and Samsung.