Seth Weintraub

A lot of folks are taking Sir Jonathan Ive’s just announced title as Chief Design Officer at face value. Congratulations are in order and all that. But there is a lot more going on than a title change.

Ive was willed free reign at Apple by Steve Jobs and can do or have just about anything he wants. Titles aren’t of any significance, especially to someone with as little ego and indifference to such things as Ive. There is clearly more to the story than Apple is telling us. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

So many great Uniode Emoji lined up for 2016 I can hardly wait.  What’s your fav? The Unicode Consortium has…

This is an Apple promotional walk down memory lane that recounts the creation of the company, the Apple I, and…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8B4uvK9veE If only Apple would copy Samsung /s

Found this, likely fake, iPhone 6 in my inbox but it does follow KGI’s report of Rose Gold and adds those…

One tipsters idea of a iPad Pro starts with what they know: Wacom pen input. The idea is as old…

Artwork by shoplemonde.de

A special Top 11 list today from noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on the next iPhone (6s? 7?) that will be released later this year. Counting down:

1. Force Touch will be the biggest upgraded selling point, but also one of the main bottlenecks of the supply chain. Force Touch can enrich user experience due to more input methods and support of handwritten signatures, which is beneficial for expanding in the commercial market
2. Screen will remain at 4.7 and 5.5 inches, with resolution the same as existing models. There will be no new 4-inch model
3. There will be an additional casing color, rose gold, matching the rose-gold Apple Watch Edition
4. The camera will have a pixel upgrade, likely to 12MP
5. One microphone will be added near the speaker to enhance voice quality
6. The A9 processor with upgraded 2GB LPDDR4 will be adopted
7. The bending issue will be improved by using different casing materials and internal mechanical design changes
8. If drop test issues can be resolved, the 5.5-inch model will have a limited number of units with sapphire cover lens
9. The recognition rate of Touch ID will be improved further in a bid to promote Apple Pay
10. Gesture control support
11. It’s expected that mass production will start in mid-to-late August. Total shipments will be 80-90mn in 2015, with a 2:1 ratio of 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models.

Some thoughts:
Expand
Expanding
Close

I can’t remember if we’re still mad at Consumer Reports for Antennagate but they seem to be doing a thorough job at testing the Apple Watch as evidenced in the video below. Notable from their Day 1 tests is that the Apple Watch Sport screen does scratch but only after going pretty far down the Moh’s hardness scale (7-rated) into the unlikely to ever happen category.

The Sapphire Apple Watch however wouldn’t scratch under any circumstances, though it doesn’t appear that Consumer Reports had a diamond pick to test it against. Regardless, for intents and purposes, you likely will never see a scratch on the face of the Apple Watch (the back is a different matter)…
Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e7PVhdP8EE&start=92] Kind of a bone-head move but this was my immediate thought when I saw Amazon one click coming to Apple…

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIAKBrMfWt8&start=2619] Dwight Schrute, otherwise known as Raine Wilson, tells it unequivocally: If it wasn’t for the iPod being released during…

Reader Mark Davies went into the Berlin Apple Store this morning to try on the Apple Watch/Sport models but got a little surprise from the employees. Here’s the first hand account…

So I go to the Apple store here in Berlin thinking I made an appointment to see the Sport and Apple Watch editions. When I get there, they check me in and tell me to wait in the line. When my turn comes a really nice Apple employee asks me which models of the Edition I would like to see. I was surprised obviously, and explained that there is no way I would consider buying one with the price. He proceeds to let me try on the Sport and Watch versions and walks me through the demos. Then he asks if I still want to see the Edition models. I say, “sure, why not”…

Expand
Expanding
Close

LaCie announced its new 4TB Thunderbolt/USB 3 Rugged RAID portable hard drive ($420 list, $399 Amazon) today, and I’ve had some time to take it for a little ‘spin.’ There are two speedy 7200RPM 2TB portable hard drives RAID-ed together inside to give the device very impressive, almost SSD-like speeds but with the cost savings and huge storage of portable hard drives. At the same time, the package isn’t much bigger than a regular portable hard drive and better yet, it can take a serious beating…

Expand
Expanding
Close

[Ed. Note: My wife liked this one so much she insisted she review it]

In many ways, my work is old school: unlike my other half, I work in an archive and write about the past. You might call my professional aesthetic “19th century schoolhouse.” Or at most “1920s Paris bookshop.” In other words, Pad&Quill. So when the Minnesota-based makers of the luxurious, leather notebook-style iPhone wallet case sent a new top-shelf work bag to our house, I claimed it. Over the past month I’ve been filling it with my MacBook, iPad, iPhone, papers, pens and books. Voilà the Attaché…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple is clearly a fan of the new Becoming Steve Jobs book (review) by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli ($12+Amazon, $13 iBooks, Free Audible). Apple execs including Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue and PR head Steve Dowling have all praised it and it is has headlined the iBookstore for over a week.  Its latest promo of the book is a 49-minute iTunes Podcast video of the authors getting interviewed at the SoHo New York Apple Store.

Must listen: Becoming Steve Jobs authors @brentschlender & @tetzeli with @Gruber for Meet the Author. http://t.co/H3AnrqSmBO

— Apple Podcasts (@ApplePodcasts) March 27, 2015

The interview is hosted by Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, who announced the book originally and is definitely worth a watch (or listen). Both the 49-minute video and audio are available here.

Another Meet the Authors is scheduled for April 7th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California.

Expand
Expanding
Close

KGI

It has been a tough slough for Apple’s iPad since the height of its popularity in 2013. Facing its second straight year of negative growth, there isn’t a consensus on why iPad sales have declined. I believe the slump is attributable to a combination of factors.

Apple CEO Tim Cook called the declining iPad sales a “speed bump” last year before the launch of the 2014 models, but we haven’t seen what Apple plans to do to rejuvenate the product. From my point of view, Apple itself has done more to hurt iPad sales than any external factor, such as Microsoft or Google.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Here’s a full explanation of my theory…

Expand
Expanding
Close

…this

via