Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Apple iPhone 8 To Have All Glass Front and Back, Stainless Steel Frame?


iPhone 8
After being snubbed by the fans and critics with lackluster launch of the iPhone 7 which offered a minor upgrade over the iPhone 6s. Apple has decided to do away with ‘S’ model release this year and it is gearing up to launch iPhone 8 during the third quarter of 2017. Rumors mills are working overtime to come up with new insights into the iPhone 8 and this time it points towards a steel frame centre with all glass based rear and front for upcoming device. This means that Apple will do away with the aluminum frame which was seen on its last range of iPhones.

Going with ‘Steel’

This isn’t the first time Apple is going to use steel in the iPhone and it was last seen in the Apple iPhone 4S models. Since then Apple has opted for the aluminum finish for its iPhone range. In another rumor it was confirmed that one of the Apple’s manufacturing partner named Jabil is secretly working on the device body which will have two reinforced glass panels. The steel frame will be utilized to hold the two pieces of glass panels together.

Apple is also being criticized for not offering enough innovation on the table when compared to its rivals after the demise of Jobs. Though Apple has brought Airpods which is a wireless earphones but it doesn’t ranks high in terms of innovation. The subsequent release of the iPhone models are also not so great in terms of innovation when Sony, Samsung and some of the Chinese rivals are bring new hype worthy devices from their stable. Apple is decisively looking for ways of cutting through the competition and brings innovation back in the play by throwing everything in the development of the iPhone 8.

Next generation iPhone 8 to be bold

The new iPhone 8 is expected to sport a new bold design language along with a bezel less OLED display. Samsung will be providing the OLED display panels for this new phone which will render extremely stunning, crisp and beautiful resolution to the users. Apple generates a major portion of its revenue from the sales of iPhone devices. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S were highly successful device from Apple in recent years in terms of number of shipments. iPhone 7 failed to generate enthusiasm and with its slow sales Apple has decided to completely overhaul the design for iPhone 8.

Some of media reports suggests that Apple will be bringing a larger device this time around apart from its usual offering in 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch Plus models. Since the size will be larger so would be the price for the device. With iPhone 7 Apple ditched the 3.5 mm headphone jack and compensated it with Airpods- awireless earphone- which has to be bought separately. Secondly Apple is still fine tuning the performance of the Airpods resulting in missing the Christmas and New Year sales season. Rumors also suggests a sleeker design with invisible home button and wireless charging capability.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Apple Working with Carl Zeiss on AR Glasses to Debut in 2018

Zeiss

Apple might not be present at CES revealing its next line up of devices but a rumor has emerged from tech world which has excited a number of fans and critics. Apple is secretly working with Zeiss as per the insider news offered by an unnamed employee. Apple is developing a working pair of augmented reality or a mixed reality glass which is expected to make its debut in 2018.

This particular employee further pointed out that Zeiss has made its booth right in the middle of the AR section even though it doesn’t have AR, VR or mixed reality optics to showcase at the event. Now it is been widely speculated that Zeiss was gearing up to unveil the so called AR glasses with Apple during an event but the cat is out of the bag now.

This is not the first time Zeiss has done something for VR segment

Zeiss is already developing special optics for the VR One Plus. This special optic is designed to turn any kind of smartphone into a Virtual or augmented reality system. One Plus isn’t the only one to offer high quality VR headsets to the consumer Microsoft, Samsung, Google and a number of other companies has also emerged in this field with their own dedicated devices.

This rumor generated by the Zeiss employee however gives rise to the speculation Apple is trying to build its own dedicated hardware which will help it in reigning as a supreme leader in the VR/AR market in future. This tie in is a smart step on part of Apple to focus on core development not just VR devices but carefully integrating with it three different operating system namely iOS, Macbook OS and Apple TV OS.

Apple tryst with AR isn’t new

In November 2016, a noted analyst has made a prediction that Apple is actively working on a holistic AR solution. It was rumored that Apple is creating this as a standalone system which will take around to turn into reality in next one to two years.

Till now it isn’t clear what Apple is working in the field of AR. Augmented reality has become a craze with the successful launch of Pokemon Go game on the Android platform which showcases one of the possibility of AR. Apple move in the AR technology can be seen as a calculated way of improving and enhancing the user experience on the iOS and Apple TV OS devices.

Even Apple CEO has confirmed Apple tryst with the AR development as it is evident from the way Apple is quietly enhancing the internal AR team by making strategic hiring and essential segment purchases. Quite recently Apple has acquired ‘Faceshift’ (Motion capture specialist), ‘Perceptio’ (machine learning and computer vision startup, Flyby Media and Metaio (a German AR firm). Apple is working with these to increase the potential development of its transparent displays, AR Maps, VR headsets for iPhone and much more.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

CES 2017: What to Expect at the Biggest Tech Trade Show of This Year

CES 2017_self_driving_cars
The gadgets extravaganza is back at Las Vegas with Consumer Electronic Show of 2017 (CES 2017) wherein as usual new TVS and other home appliances will make it way along with the newly crafted segment for the automotive technology based vehicles. Here is the quick breakdown of the upcoming segments from which we will see new gadgets being launched over the few days.

Televisions

Televisions are an integral and classical spectacle of the CES 2017. Like last year we will get to see the launch of 4K and HDR devices but this time the price will be significantly lower. However the TV manufacturers are finding it hard to sell the televisions therefore they are actively trying to sell content or Ultra HD capability on their devices. The major players like LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony has opted for massive booth to showcase their might with their wider range of advanced displays.

Self Driving Cars: The New Entrant

CES 2017 has been jokingly referred as Car Electronics Show as a large number of automobile manufacturers have made their way in Las Vegas to showcase their self driving cars. In just a couple of years self driving technology has made huge advancement which is set to brings futuristic world right at door step wherein people can ride in the autonomous vehicles.

VR Headsets 

Last year’s CES brought the VR into the play which left everyone amazed with its limited yet mesmerizing capabilities. This year will bring weirder and more capable VR headsets which are expected to blur the line between reality and virtual reality to a great extent. Facebook was first to make headline with its amazing Oculus line of VR headset way back in 2013 but this year it keeping a relatively low profile which has opened up the space for others. Microsoft, HTC, Google and some other little known manufacturers has already launched their VR headset during 2016 and they are expected make comeback with next version of their devices.

Drone

This year’s CES 2017 is set to bring new generation of drones which are much weirder and wild than ever before. Currently the market leader us DJI which has no competitors near it to give it a stiff challenge. Drones will come in all shapes, sizes and with varying capabilities. A number of drones have been optimized for the indoor flying as a number of regulations has made it tougher to market and sell outdoor drones. Some will feature functionality to be used in the high-speed racing while some can even possess underwater diving capabilities.

Wireless Audio

Apple created a sensation last year during its launch event by launching it won unique wireless headphone but the wait for this exquisite offering has been prolonged as Apple failed to release device during Christmas holidays. A large number of headphone and audio device makers are making their way at CES 2017 to reveal their upcoming wireless audio devices in the wake of capturing the market. Since Apple has done away with 3.5 mm jack audio device manufacturers are showing an elevated interest in the wireless devices.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Apple sued over fatal 'FaceTime crash'


FaceTime
Smartphones or iPhones can be one’s favorite pass time as it includes several interesting features and applications that can add to your amusement. At least one member in every family uses iPhone and with the increase in its popularity and decrease in price almost everyone is aware of this gadget which is surely beneficial as you can get access to several things happening in and around the world. But, yes it can only prove out to be beneficial if proper measures are taken while using it otherwise your life can be at stake

With the increase in popularity of iPhones lawsuits against Apple has also increased in number. Several cases against the Apple company have been registered in recent times because the users have become so addicted to its usage that they do not even hesitate to risk their and their fellow beings’ life.

Once An American Couple lost their son in an accident, and when the investigation took place it was discovered that the boy who was 20 years old was using Face Time on his iPhone and on further note it was found that the application was running almost for over an hour before the accident took place which proves that the boy was hardly cautious in terms of driving and when suddenly another vehicle came from the other side he could not control his car and met with a fatal accident. When the cops found the phone of the boy at the accident spot they noticed that application was still running.After this revelation the couple filed a case against Apple but it is very obvious that no matter how hard they try they will not get back their son.

Another incident took place in India where a person while driving was busy doing video chat over his iPhone hit a women who was crossing the road with her daughter and unfortunately both of them died because of the carelessness of the driver. Similarly, there are several accidents taking place almost every day and everywhere.

After so many accidents taking place the court has issued a notice against Apple regarding their Face Time, iMessage and video calling features asking them that they should launch a technology, or a software should be fed in iPhone were anyone while driving will not be able to access these features.

Though the iPhone manufacturers have not yet yielded any response in favor of the allegations but it is sure that in near future they will definitely figure out a solution to these dead ends.

We all believe that technologically advanced gadgets are very beneficial but as users we should also remain careful while availing all these benefits given by Apple so that we do not risk our life as well as others. It is good to be advanced but it is simultaneously necessary that we are careful enough to use it in a proper manner. Take the advantages of the features but be sure that it does not leads to disaster instead of privileges.

Friday, January 6, 2017

New Cinema Mode is Rumoured to be Part of iOS 10.3 Update


iPhone
Dwindling sales and under performance of its flagship iPhone 7 has brought a new frenzy in the Apple where it is looking forward to bring new cool features on devices in a hurry. It has been rumored that Apple is carrying out extensive testing of a relatively new feature for the iPads and iPhone in 2017 with next update.

Apple is expected to bring iOS 10.3 update in upcoming months wherein a slew of new features apart from regular bug removals and minor enhancement will be to the iOS platform. This new feature has been tightly kept under the wraps but it has been found that this particular feature make its way into the control centre and it will be named “mode”. Rumor mills are suggesting that this could be the brand new cinema mode which been making news for quite some time.

What this new mode feature will bring? 

Some are calling this feature ‘Theatre Mode’ while other are labeling it as ‘Cinema Mode’. Regardless of the name this feature will bring in the functionality of diming the device screen through simply touching at the button. It has been suggested that this will help in making movie viewing a much easier activity on the iOS based devices.

A reputed Apple leakster going by the name Sonny Dickson has offered his opinion that this new mode will bring a wider functionality to the users. According to him through a simple touch on this mode button which dim the screen along with putting sound & notifications in mute phase. In short it will act as a mega version of the silent mode wherein you can enjoy movies and videos without being disturbed by unwanted messages, notification or other sounds.

New Feature will launch closely followed by iPhone 8 this year

Critics and Apple fans were left distraught by the launch of the iPhone 7 which doesn’t any new significant design changes and extra rich features to the iPhone experience. It is being expected that Apple will closely follow the launch of iPhone 8 this year after bringing the latest iOS update.

The latest iOS update has been code named Erie and it is expected make way to the existing devices by the end of this month. Some other tweaks and features to be seen with iOS 10.3 is that it will bring improved Apple Pencil support, bug resolvement apart a large number of minor tweaks and enhancements to the overall iOS experience. In October Apple brought Portrait Mode with iOS 10.1, in December it brought extensive emojis support with iOS 10.2.

A large of Apple users regularly complain about the battery issue in the iOS based devices. The rapid battery drain in the Apple devices has become an epidemic which brings havoc for the heavy users as they struggle to find charging opportunities frequently. Hopefully in the upcoming update Apple will bring necessary tweaks to prolong the battery life on its range of devices.