Apple

iPhone 8 concept imagines rumored “function area” replacing Touch ID and Home button

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 15, 2017

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, along with other analysts, told clients that iPhone 8 would most likely feature a 5.8-inch OLED screen with an active display area of 5.1 inches.

It's now becoming clear that Apple's upcoming handset will probably adopt an almost bezel-less full-screen front face design by ditching the physical Home and Touch ID button.

Its function would be supplanted by a set of dynamic virtual controls sitting in a new “function area” at the bottom of the display. That, in turn, would allow for a range of time-saving shortcuts without degrading the experience, as evidenced in a batch of nicely done renderings created by a MacRumors Forum member “deuxani”.

Pokémon GO gains 80+ new creatures and a bunch of new features in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2017

Pokémon GO developer Niantic Labs announced two days ago that an upcoming update would bring over eighty new Pokémon and other new features to the popular augmented reality game. Yesterday, the developer said that the new Pokémon GO 1.27.2 update containing those perks began rolling out.

It's a staggered release so you might need to wait a little bit longer if it's not live on your local App Store yet. Here's everything new in Pokémon GO 1.27.2 for iOS.

Watch Apple’s latest ads promoting Portrait mode on iPhone 7 Plus

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2017

Lately, Apple has been amping up its advertising efforts concerning its flagship dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus model, as part of its broader “Shot in iPhone” campaign. Following its “Creek” and “Soul Mate” ads earlier this month which showcased Portrait mode on iPhone 7 Plus and prior commercials highlighting the handset's enhanced low-light photography features, the company yesterday posted two new ads on its YouTube channel, titled “Boyfriend” and “Profile Picture”.

Reuters: Apple to start building iPhone SE in India in coming months

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2017

Apple is set to start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE in India in the coming months, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

All iPhone SE units will be made in a facility that Apple's contract manufacturer will set up at Peenya on the outskirts of Bengaluru. All devices will be targeted at the domestic market.

How iPhone 8’s rumored biometric facial scanning could supplant Touch ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 23, 2017

Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities predicted that iPhone 8 would supplant Touch ID with advanced sensors capable of recognizing one's face with very high accuracy. JPMorgan analyst Rod Hall corroborated Kuo's report, speculating that facial recognition would utilize a front-facing 3D sensor.

For many people, this has been one of the tougher iPhone 8 rumors to swallow. For starters, how would iPhone 8 authenticate the user in the middle of the night? Or in complete darkness? Touch ID lets you unlock your iPhone without looking whereas facial recognition would require you to face the sensor, a major inconvenience.

A few reports have attempted to shed some light on the subject, explaining the basics of 3D motion and object scanning and how Apple might leverage 3D sensors in iPhone 8.

You’ll soon be able to apply for a job in Facebook’s mobile app and on the web

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2017

Facebook on Thursday announced it's rolling out a new Jobs section on the mobile app and via the web interface at facebook.com/jobs. This new feature will allow users to find and apply for hourly-paid job openings advertised on the service by small businesses in the United States and Canada.

Designed for lower-skilled workers and people who aren’t actively looking for a job, the new section is currently in limited testing in the US. Job posts will be accessible through News Feed via a dedicated Jobs tab and promoted on the business' Facebook Page.

iPhone 8 to boost Retina resolution to 2436×1125 at 521 PPI

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2017

The next iPhone's OLED display should boost Retina resolution to a whopping 2,436-by-1,125 pixels, or almost twice that of the iPhone 6/6s/7 series, giving the upcoming phone a screen density of a crisp 521 pixels per inch (PPI). That's what KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a note issued to clients, a copy of which was obtained by 9to5Mac.

The numbers would give iPhone 8 a screen of 21:9 versus a 16:9 screen ration on current models. By contrast, the current 4.7-inch iPhone 7 has a screen resolution of 1,334-by-750 pixels at 326 PPI—enough to support 720p video content without rescaling.

JPMorgan predicts iPhone 8 would replace fingerprint scanning with facial recognition

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2017

Touch ID is a core technology that supports a number of Apple services, including Apple Pay. If JPMorgan analyst Rod Hall is to be believed, the next iPhone might ditch Apple's fingerprint reader in favor of facial recognition, CNBC reports. iPhone 8 is thought to sport a front-facing 3D scanner sensor that could replace Apple's Touch ID-enabled Home button. Hall wrote in a research note this week that Touch ID could be phased out if Apple goes with a full-glass front for the next iPhone.

BlackBerry’s global market share tanks to zero percent nearly ten years after iPhone launched

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2017

According to the latest quarterly data from research firm Gartner, BlackBerry's share of the global smartphone market is now 0.0 percent versus its peak market share of approximately 20 percent in 2009. To be precise, the Canadian company's global market share in the fourth quarter of 2016 stood at a rather measly 0.0481 percent, Gartner said yesterday.

Of the more than 432 million smartphones sold during the holiday quarter, just 207,900 were BlackBerries running the company's own operating system (BlackBerry also sells devices that run Android, like DTEK60 and Privilege). The development marks the end of an era, nearly ten years after Apple launched its iPhone.

Apple announces WWDC 2017 returning to San Jose, kicking off June 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 30, 2017

Apple announced today that its Worldwide Developers Conference will be kicking off with a keynote on June 5. The five-day conference will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, the site of the original WWDC and located just minutes from Apple’s new iSpaceship headquarters in Cupertino.

This will be the first time WWDC will be in San Jose since 2002: WWDCs from 2013 onward were held in San Francisco. Developers will have the opportunity to apply for tickets this spring, the Cupertino company has confirmed. The conference will focus on all platforms—macOS, tvOS, watchOS and iOS—and will be live-streamed through the Apple Developer website and on the WWDC app for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

Bloomberg: 4K-capable Apple TV being tested for release as soon as this year

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2017

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is testing a next-generation Apple TV media-streaming box that will have native 4K video output and other improvements.

The new set-top box is said to release “as soon as this year,” according to sources familiar with the development who spoke with reporter Mark Gurman.

Internally codenamed “J105,” a fifth-generation device will be capable of 4K streaming and should support “more vivid colors,” indicating support for the wide color gamut feature that Apple already introduced in latest iPads and iPhones.

Apple’s risk aversion and arrogance blamed for lack of large takeovers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 15, 2017

Apple's boss Tim Cook said on a recent earnings call with investors and analysts that his company on average acquired between fifteen to twenty smaller companies per year for the last four years, noting that Apple looks for startups of all sizes. “There's not a size that we wouldn't do based on just the size of it, it's more about the strategic value of it,” he said.

A new report Wednesday from Bloomberg alleges that Apple's reluctance to cooperate with third-party advisers like investment banks, risk aversion and internal acquisition strategy are standing in the way of large takeovers.