Apple Granted a Patent for a Dual Display MacBook or Second Generation iPad Pro

MacBook or Second Generation iPad Pro to have Two Screens?

The US Patent and Trademark Office recently published two new patents filed by the Cupertino company in 2015. Apple may be on to making a device with dual screen. The so-called-device seems to be in the form of a notebook with two screens that is attached by a hinge that allows one of the screens to be used as a keyboard, gaming console or sketch pad. In another scenario the hinge used to secure the two screens together could be detachable and the likely device could be used as a second generation iPad Pro.

The device is said to have in one case a permanent hinge while in next case it could also have a detachable magnetic kind of hinge that will lead to apple making a dual device with two screens. This dual screen tech that Apple has going will be also usable with the user wearing a pair of sunglasses too.

Non-reflective dual display: 

With this multiple use screen that may double as a keyboard or gaming console, apple has used tech that prevents the screens from reflecting off one and another. Apple has used polarized layers and some other optical layers in making their iconic dual display. This tech is to allow the wearer of vertically polarized sunglasses to view material on the dual display with a minimum of reflection. Another possible use of this tech is to minimize reflections from the first screen onto the second screen.

Apple may not have been the first company to go in for dual screen devices as Lenovo has already entered the market with its sleek dual screen notebook. According to reports, the first display could be a liquid crystal display that has an inner and outer liner polarizer.

The second display may come in an organic light- emitting diode display. The second display having organic light emitting diodes could have pixels that contain thin film- like transistors and these organic diodes that emit light. The second display may also come with a circular polarizer which is used to cover the pixels to suppress ambient light reflections.

The patent termed as “dual screen with enhanced visibility and suppressed reflections” may come in a device that has the first screen and then directly below it the second screen as a horizontal strip while the rest of the base may be a keyboard or trackpad. In another likely scenario both the screens may take the form of a device which has one screen used as the monitor and the other that functions as a keyboard or a large trackpad.

Apple Launches iPhone 7 Repair Program for Models Showing 'No Service'

Apple comes up with Repair Program for iPhone 7 suffering from “No Service” issue

A number of iPhone 7 devices were suffering from a technical glitch wherein devices showed no services right in the status bar. Apple’s Repair Program will help all the users with the faulty iPhone 7 to get respite from being unable to call others in need. Apple became aware of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus loss of cellular service issue and started the investigation immediately. . This issue was quite annoying for the users as there was nothing wrong with the tower reception the cellular coverage are available to the users without any interruptions.

Apple has investigated this problem in the iPhone 7 devices and came up with the conclusion that one hardware component has simply malfunctioned. Apple has even advised the authorized service providers to aid and instruct customers how to deal with their affected iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus models. The usual way of fixing any cellular reception related issue is to remove and reinsert the devices’ SIM card but that wouldn’t be much avail in this case.

Component malfunction is the reason

The investigation conducted by the Apple sheds light that a small percentage of the iPhone device manufactured specifically in-between September 2016 and February 2017 has suffered from this issue. In order to appease the customer Apple has decided to launch a Repair Program wherein it will be repairing iPhone 7 free of charge after checking it for the symptoms.

The reason behind the issue is mainly attributed to the failure of a hardware component present on the main logic board. Since it is hardware issue it is possible to fix by sending out an OTA update rather it will need proper repairing which isn't cheap either.

The model number of iPhone 7 affected by this issue and which happens to be eligible for the Apple's Repair Program includes

•  A1660, A1780 - China 
•  A1660 - Hong Kong, Macao, US 
•  A1779 - Japan

Keeping customers happy with Repair Program

Apple has promised only to invest its time and resources in repairing the affected iPhone 7 models which has been manufactured ion the last two years. These models comprise of the iPhone 7 devices which came out after the successful reception of the first retail sales of the units globally. It should be noted that the iPhone Plus is not the part of the Apple's Repair Program.

The silver lining here for the customers is that Apple is willing to reimburse the amount for those who had already paid to get their iPhone 7 repaired prior to the commencement of this Repair Program.Way back in 2016 Apple has made internal inquiry into the wellbeing and performance of its iPhone line-up and it was found that the iPhone 7s was suffering from this bug issue. Afterthe dismal performance of the Apple iPhone X in terms of units sold has left Apple no choice but come up with a customer friendly Repair Program for the faulty iPhone 7.

How to Turn Off iPhone Throttling in iOS 11.3

iPhone Throttling: iOS 11.3 will allow to accelerate or decelerate old iPhones voluntarily

A little more than a month ago, Apple recognized that it slows down the iPhone through software updates (iphone throttling), a situation that has generated several headaches for the company and that has even caused several complaints from disgruntled customers. Following this, Apple decided facilitate its users by voluntarily turn off iphone throttling. It sent an iOS update to accelerate the processors of old iPhones with degraded batteries, but to leave the issue in the hands of the users themselves, the company confirmed last week that it will launch an iOS update which let's choose whether or not they want to slow down their iPhones in favor of greater security.

Most of the iphone users were forlorn with the disclosure, furthermore Apple react by reducing the cost of an iPhone battery replacement from $79 to $29 along with vowing to provide users the facility to turn off the iphone throttling. That knack has currently available here in adaptations of iOS 11.3 rolling out; it be supposed to come to open beta testers contained by some few days, as well as it will to be expected be accessible in a concluding release contained by the coming weeks — at whatever time it does pull in on your phone, here is how to bring into play the iPhone throttling manually.

Initially, the users will require to be administrating iPhone throttling — that, by this position, have need of a quantity of waiting as well as a small number of additional steps. Apple has not alleged while the absolute adaptation will be released, however any person can roll their gadget to take delivery of beta erect of the software. The battery administration attributes were only appended in the second beta edition, so users will call for to keep informed yet if they downloaded the foremost iOS 11.3 beta the previous month.

Although it was not certain when this option would come, today the company has announced that iOS 11.3 is the version of firmware that will add a switch to perform iphone throttling i.e., to disable processor acceleration and reduce performance decelerated in old iPhones with naturally degraded batteries. According to the company, the controversial feature was added to prevent the old iPhones from being accidentally turned off when the processor was under heavy load, which caused a peak of energy that the battery could not handle.

To do this, Apple accelerated the processor on those devices with the idea of making sure there was not a peak of power large enough so that the battery could not handle it. This hinted that Apple was reducing the performance of older iPhones to force users to buy newer models, so Apple has had to apologize.

Returning to the theme of iOS 11.3, Apple said that this next update will provide the possibility of opting not to receive this functionality when the software update that will arrive in the spring is released. Once users install the update, they can see if the power management feature that dynamically manages maximum performance to avoid unexpected stops is turned on and you can choose to turn iphone throttling off.

Apple in Talks for First Order from Chinese Chipmaker Nikkei

Apple soon going to get chips manufactured from Chinese firms

Apple has been developing its own chips for quite some time and but the rising costs in last few years has finally made it give away the manufacturing to China. Currently Apple is in talks with a Chinese firm named Yangtze Memory Technologies to buy storage chips as per report from Nikkei.

This would also be marked as the first when Apple is indulging in buying chips from the Chinese manufacturers. It is worth noting that these chips will be used only for the new iPhone models as well as other products which will be sold exclusively in the Chinese market only.

Apple performance in Chinese market

As per the Nikkei report Apple has a quite profitable and influential share of the Chinese market. In 2016 Apple market share went down to 9.6 % from 13.6% which was attributed to the rise of the local players like Oppo, Vivo and Huawei who had brought high end specifications to the budget segment.

Things weren’t good just a couple of years for Apple in the China market as it market grew just by 9%. Apple iPhone 6 and 6S variants of iPhone were the best performing device from the Apple so far while iPhone 7 simply failed to capture the attention of the users. But the launch of the iPhone X has simply turned the tide in favour of Apple by bringing back the high end innovation right into the play.

Apple relies on China for manufacturing

Apple has boosted its growth in terms of unit sales with each passing thanks to the efficient manufacturing capabilities of its Chinese partners. It can be easily said that China has played a vital and crucial role in the rise of the iPhone is the last decades due to massive on time production capabilities.

Apple supply chain is quite complex as it brings together different for its iPhone specifically from different parts of the world namely France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Italy, Netherlands and others. Apple does stick the made in China label in all of its devices as the majority of the parts are sourced locally in China while some of the part is outsourced to Taiwan as well.

This year round Apple has relied on the China to produce the iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices along with the others. Apple’s iPhone X also became the first flagship device from Apple to break the one grand dollar price tag barrier which resulted lower than the expected sales in later months but it didn’t put any dent to the overall revenue of the firm.

The decision of sourcing storage chips seems to be a good move on part of the Apple to save more on the chips so it can keep offering the next batch of devices without causing a steep increase in the sale price. Both Apple and Yangtze Memory have refrained to provide any information or comment on this development as reported by the Nikkei.

Apple Invents an Optical System for a Future VR and AR Headset

Apple’s concocting a New Optical System for VR and AR Headsets

Looks like the Cupertino based company, is planning something for their VR and AR headsets. Recently there was news of a patent being published in which Apple seems to be cooking up a new optical system design for their VR and AR headsets and if this news is to be believed, then Apple may be coming up with a lighter and more comfortable VR or AR headset.

This new patent is all about bringing down the weight in using an AR or VR headset. It’s not certain as of now when products bearing this patented tech will be released, it could be months or years or maybe not ever, only time will tell and of course Apple will when they are ready. It’s no surprise that the company has ambitions to deliver a new VR or AR headset in the future but will this new AR or VR headset bear this new optical system or not is the question.

What is the optical system patent actually about? 

Recently the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently published a patent in which Apple has come up with a new optical system that is aimed at making AR or VR headsets much more comfortable and lighter to use. Although the end product maybe years away from the production line, it still helps to know what Apple is up to at the moment.

Microsoft’s HoloLens and Facebook’s Oculus VR Rift Headsets all share something in common besides that they are meant for VR, they can be heavy and uncomfortable to wear. Long hours wearing such a device on the head can become tiring and cumbersome to wear. Apple has even called some of the headsets out there having optical systems that are bulky and not that comfortable to wear.
What is Apple’s new Optical System About?

The published patent details an optical system in which Apple has come out with a new technique/ optical system known as the Catadioptric system. This optical system is not all together new, it has been used as a basis in optical telescopes, telephoto lenses and microscopes. But it is the first time that such an optical system will be thought of for AR or VR headsets.

The catadioptric System is an optical system that uses a combination of curved mirrors and lenses to create a mix of refraction and reflection that does away with magnifying lenses which are used to make visual content larger in the standard optical systems used in AR or VR headsets and that is the primary reason why standard headsets bearing this type of magnifying lens is heavy and cumbersome to use.

With this optical system in mind, Apple can not only reduce the weight of its AR or VR headsets but also slim down the size of the Headsets too.

Until now it is not clear whether and if Apple will ever come to use this optical system in their VR or AR headsets. Right now Apple is playing a waiting game to see how the market will play out and whether VR headsets are here for the long haul or not.