Apple Pay Officially Launches in China

The Launch of Apple Pay in China

Apple Pay that offers great prospects though some substantial challenges has now landed in its fifth country. Apple has recently announced on its Developer page as well as through the Weibo account of CEO Tim Cook, the launch of Apple Pay in China. The Chinese consumers would now be capable of utilising the service in purchasing items at supported retailers by using their iPhones and Apple Watches.

The potential to pay for goods through a smartphone has been around for some years particularly in China. Apple Pay, launched in 2014, helped in arousing consumer interest in the concept. Apple had faced competition from Samsung Pay as well as Google’s Android Pay besides banks like JP Morgan and retailers like Walmart, who also intend to join in the mobile payment bandwagon.

Apple Pay is already being utilised in US, UK, Canada and Australia and in order to gain more foothold, the service is required to extend to additional countries. China tends to represent a main achievement since it is the largest smartphone market in the world and Apple’s second largest market with regards to revenue.

Encounter Key Challenges in Winning Chinese Consumers

Apple Pay seems to encounter key challenges in winning over Chinese consumers where several of them already pay for products through their phone by using services offered by one of the country’s two main online companies namely Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group.

Towards the end of last year, around 358 million Chinese paid for goods through their smartphones, according to Reuter’s reports that cited data from the Chinese Internet Network Information Centre. Moreover, Apple Pay needs retailers to furnish their point-of-sale terminals with NFC or near-field communication technology that tends to communicate with equally equipped iPhone of Apple Watch.

According to BBC News, Alipay system of Alibaba tends to conduct transaction by displaying quick response - QR codes that can be read by more phones and also supports both iOS as well as Android devices. One retailer who refrained from being named for fear of harming business prospects informed Reuters, that`with 100% saturation of local payment systems, none have been demanding for Apple Pay in China’.

Apple Pay – Solution in Need of a Problem

`Presently all have a local payment option on their phone and so Apple Pay is a solution in need of a problem’. In order to compete with Tencent’s Tenpay service as well as Alipay, Apple had been in partnership with UnionPay, which is a bankcard association, dominating the credit and debit card processing market of the country.

Apple Pay is presently supported by 19 various Chinese banks as well as lenders meaning that the service can work with about 80% of credit and debit cards of China, according to Vice President of Apple Pay Jennifer Bailey, who informed Reuters. To make in-store transactions, Apple Pay needs to work with the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus together with Apple Watch.

The service works with all those devices and with the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 4 and iPad Pro to make in-app purchases. No comments had been done by Apple to a request for comment.

GPS Tracking Down to the Centimeter

GPS Tracking with a new level of accuracy

GPS Tracking can be defined as the surveillance through the use of a GPS (Global Positioning System) in order to trace the location of an object or an entity in a remote way. The details that a GPS system can provide are the latitude, longitude, the ground speed and of course the direction of movement.

The basics of a GPS: The need for better accuracy

A GPS is basically a constellation of twenty four satellites placed at certain points in space orbiting the Earth. It enables people on the ground to pinpoint on a specific location that is picked up by the satellites. The accuracy of the location that is indicated is somewhere close to 10 – 100 meters for most of the GPS devices. In case it is military grade equipment, the accuracy of the spot increases to 1 metre or less. The use of GPS has increased and has become low cost as well. People who own a smartphone, tablet or a GPS navigation system has access to and can make use of this modern technology.

The GPS technology is very valuable for the police, fire brigade, defense units and transportation or courier businesses. Other uses of this system can be the GPS guns that can fire a GPS tracker to avoid a dangerous pursuit by shooting at an escaping or a moving target by law enforcers. Other variants of this domain could be GPS dust that again comprises of tiny trackers. This method has also been employed for tracking employee locations.

However, the common concern regarding the GPS technology irrespective of its use has always been the accuracy of the location. In this regard, researchers at the University of California have come up with a new data processing method that has led to an increase in the accuracy of the transmitted position. This new system can now provide data that would be within the range of a few centimetres. This new development will be incorporated in the aviation, automobile and the naval systems apart from other precision technologies. The same accuracy can be achieved on mobile devices as well and the best thing would be that it is not going to increase the power consumption rate.

How did it all happen?

This new breakthrough was achieved after a reformulation of a series of equations which is the core of the process that determines the location of the GPS implant. The main driving force that led to this progress was the strong need of a system that would be beyond the metre level accuracy, especially in the case of autonomous cars and precision farming that need a higher level of accuracy.

In the case of cars, the applications controlling the safety system not only needs to know in which lane is a car running, but it also needs to know where exactly it is in that lane. Also, the information has to refresh at very high speeds as well as high bandwidth. Hence, GPS data along with from an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) were combined using INS (Internal Navigation system).

Apple TV Is Getting Voice Dictation to End Your Typing Woes

Apple TV –Dictation/App Store Search for Siri

With the updated Apple TV, typing has been a strain; however text input could get a lot better with its next software update. Presently out for developers in beta form, the next tvOS 9.2 will add dictation as well as App Store search for Siri enabling users to contribute text through voice commands.

One can also spell passwords out loud instead of doing things the hard way with the remote. Voice search works the way one would expect on the App Store permitting users to ask Siri to access assured categories or apps. The update is said to introduce Live Photos as well as iCloud Photo Library support, enhanced folder organization together with a revamped App Switcher.

As per MacRumors, the next instalment of tvOS 9.2 would be released to all users in spring officially together with iOS 9.3 for iPhone and iPad. One of the biggest complaints at launch, with the fourth generation Apple TV was the text entry. Considering that the video streamer supported Siri, though did not support dictation for quick search box completion, user account entry became unusual and also seemed unavoidable.

Voice Dictation Feature

The Siri Remote which comes with the new Apple TV enables Siri based voice search and the company is attempting to bring Siri search support on the Apple TV for Apple Music. The tech giant company has sown tvOS 9.2 beta 3 to developers and besides other features it has a voice dictation feature.

On enabling dictation in Apple tvOS 9.2 beta 3, one can speak in the Siri remote and enter text in any field which earlier needed a slow and awkwardseries of swipes and clicks on a horizontal row of letters. Dictation tends to aid the spelling of user names as well as password, besides quick word entry in search boxes. The update has also introduced the potential of searching the App Store from anywhere in the Apple TV interface on holding the button of Siri and speaking commands such as `Search the App Store for Plex’ or What games are in the App Store?”

The update also remedies other complaints on adding support for Bluetooth keyboards, Live Photos, iCloud Photo Libraries as well as introduces the ability to group apps in folders on the home screen of Apple TV like iOS.

Feature Not Available for General Public

Apple TVs will probably receive the tvOS 9.2 update in spring with an official date is rumoured to be announced at the March 15thevent where it is also likely to launch the iPad Air 3, iPhone 5se as well as the new Apple Watch models and bands.

The feature has not been made available for the general public and Apple is expected to include all of the features to users with tvOS 9.2, public rollout. It is strange that Apple has taken sometime in bringing such features to its tvOS platform considering that the feature had been on iOS as well as OS X for quite a long time. Taking into account that tvOS tends to make good use of text input system, it leaves one to consider over its apparent reasons.

We would be seeing at least one more beta before tvOS 9.2 is rolled to all across the world. Considering the fact the Apple is adding new features with every release of pre-release software for Apple TV 4, there is probably likelihood that the final build would bring surprises not seen or heard earlier.

Best iOS Apps: Apps You Should Download

There are thousands of apps made available to the user most of which are provided free of cost. Some of the following apps mentioned could be beneficial to the user.

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app is now free for download on iOS. It utilises the internet connection of the phone of 4G, 3G, 2G, EDGE or Wi-Fi, to call and send message to family and friends without any cost. Users can send and receive images, videos, messages as well as voice messages through WhatsApp

Uber, the taxi app makes moving around easier and instead of calling the cab and have cash in your pocket; users could request it and pay for it through the app. Uber is presently operative in London, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Birmingham and Newcastle, in UK.

Citymapper could be helpful if one needs to navigate through a city. This urban transport app comprises of an A to B journey planner, public transport delays, real-time traffic data, and maps and is presently available in Birmingham, London and Manchester in the UK.

Facebook, the world’s largest social network offers a strongly refined experience to iPhone and iPod touch though still enable access to contacts, feeds together with other important information which makes it in several ways greater in using Facebook in desktop browser.

PhotoSynth is a great outlook app, is user-friendly and amusing to use particularly while watching a panoramas taking shape when one tends to capture it. iOS Camera app has a panorama mode though PhotoSynth is more flexible and functions with older devices.

Dropbox – There are several app existing for the transfer of content between the computer and the device though Dropbox is free and easy to use than the others. Users can store files in a folder on your computer and Dropbox for you’re the device will allow you to access them, download them to be viewed offline.

Skype – Though FaceTime seems a great substitute to standard voice calls, it is not good if one has been attempting to contact someone without a compatible iOS or a Mac device. Skype seems to be an essential download wherein the interface tends to be simple and usable permitting the user with a Skype account in making free calls to another Skype user which are economical to any part of the world. It is useful if one is on Pay and Go, though the app also enables iPod touch users to use their devices for calls.

Adobe Photoshop Express –For quick, free and a usable tool in making edits to your iPhone photos, Adobe’s app is an appropriate choice. It can be used for cropping, straightening, exposure adjustments, colour effects, sharpening and much more.

Shazam, since 2008, is an iOS main, which will provide the name and artist of any songs with a matter of seconds. Moreover it will also pull up YouTube video with the lyrics enabling the user to add the song to your Rdio or Spotify playlists. It can be used to learn new music with its optional track.

CandyCrush Saga an immensely addictive game of puzzle enables the user to move through the levels on matching combinations of coloured sweets. This game is free and was one of the top 10 iOS download last year inspite of being launched in November 2012.

iPhone 7 to Do Away with Antenna Bands and Protruding Camera

iPhone 7 – Rear Camera in Aluminium Casing/Antenna Bands Upper-Lower Edge

According to news reports, the camera of iPhone 7 will be in line with its body and the antenna bands will now not stretch along its surface. The latest lustrous design would represent a move towards a much more uniform streamline presence.

 According to sources, the rear-camera would be within the aluminium casing and the antenna bands would be only on the upper and the lower edges rather than extending across the width of the handset. Several of the consumers were amazed at the decision of the company in enabling the camera on the iPhone 6 to protrude from its casing.

It is both out of character for the particular design standards, exposing the lens to scratches together with other damages. Doing away with the plastic antenna strips also seems reasonable. The company had been granted a patent last summer, specifying a metal composite capable of replacing the strips that are essential for the antenna of the phone in sending and receiving signal. The latest casing can be adequately thin to enable radio waves to pass through eliminating the need to coat the strip segment with plastic for the handset to send and receive signals.

Removal of Headphone Jack

Other rumours with regards to iPhone 7 comprise of removal of the headphone jack in order to develop a thinner body. The plan to eliminate the headphone jack to develop a slimmer body could be a provocative idea and the company could apparently include new wireless headphone with the new handset or probably a pair of headphones which tend to connect to the phone through a lightning connector. Since June 2015, third parties had also been creating lightning connector headphones when Apple had extended its made-for-iPhone licensing programme.

The company has also reported to be creating a type of wireless charging which tends to allow the iPhone from the need to be replaced on a charging mat, which is the most common format used presently, as per Bloomberg. But it is doubtful to be assimilated into an iPhone prior to 2017. The latest iPhone scheduled for release in September signifies and important moment in the history of Apple and the company has apparently reduced the production levels of iPhone 6 as well as 6s Plus by a third owing to fears of slowing demand for the unused year’s models inspite of early sales of over 13 million units within the availability period of three days.

More Advanced Hardware Changes – Encourage Consumers

iPhone 7 should have more advanced hardware changes in order to encourage consumers to buy it since the developing markets tend to reach increasing levels of saturation as the economy seems to shift from a buy to an upgrade cycle. The iPhone 5se, the next iPhone will probably be launched on 15 March at an event according to reports where the 4 inch handset would be revealed at a spring even in San Francisco together with the iPad Air 3 as well as some new Apple Watch straps.

The iPhone 5se is anticipated to have new features comprising of an upgraded camera, Apple Pay accompanied with Live Photos, for customers who tend to remain unconvinced by the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays which had been introduced with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in September 2014.