iOS devices refer to any of Apple’s hardware that runs the iOS mobile operating system which include iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Historically, Apple releases a new iOS version once a year, the current version is iOS 10. Here is the complete list of iOS 10 compatible devices.
Barack Obama’s second United States Presidential Inauguration will be held this morning at 11:30 a.m. EST in Washington DC. The event will feature music headliners like Beyoncé (National Anthem), James Taylor, and Kelly Clarkson. The President was actually sworn into office yesterday, but all festivities will be held today. There will also be a parade to round out the day’s celebrations. You can stream the event on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with the Inaugural 2013 iOS app. The app was created by AT&T, but you can use it on any cellular carrier.
The iPhone may have recently captured a record 53 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. However, when it comes to its steady second place position in the U.S. handset market (smartphones and feature phones combined), a new report claimed LG bumped Apple to third position during December on strong sales of its Optimus G.
Yonhap News covered the report from Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research, which said on Sunday that LG captured 13 percent of the U.S. market last month, bumping Apple to third place for the first time since the launch of the iPhone 4S. Apple recorded 12 percent of the market, which puts both Apple and LG well behind leader Samsung at 33 percent. LG recently announced sales of 1 million units for the Optimus G worldwide, but it’s unclear if the LG-made Nexus 4 from Google was a significant contributor to the company’s rise during December.
LG Electronics had maintained the runner-up position until the third-quarter of 2011 but fell to third place after Apple’s iPhone 4S hit the market… Market insiders attributed LG Electronics’ sales growth to the popularity of its latest Optimus G handset, with over 1 million units sold across North America.
However, Commercial Times‘ (likely inaccurate) report is calling for a ‘iPhone 5S’ (fine, already rumored), an “iPhone Math” (what?) with a 4.8-inch display, and a third device with a 12-megapixel rear camera. The paper says the first two devices will launch in June, while the higher-end 12-megapixel-camera-packed iPhone will come for the holiday season. The first two iPhones are said to carry 8 megapixel camera sensors (like the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5).
BrightWire has translated some of the more specific claims from the China Times portion of the report. Apparently, shipments will increase for crucial components (like the touchscreen displays and camera systems) in March ahead of a production launch in late April. The reports also offer specific claims regarding who will be producing the components for the next iPhones, as translated by BrightWire:
Core Group, Apple’s official distributor in South Africa, just announced details for the launch date and pricing of Apple TV in the country. According to a statement by the company (via mybroadband.co.za), Apple TV will finally launch through select retailers starting Jan. 18. The launch follows Apple’s official opening of iTunes Store and iPhone 5 in South Africa alongside 50+ other countries last month.
Core Group suggested Apple TV will retail for R1099 (roughly $125 USD) but also noted, “resellers are entirely free to determine the actual prices at which products will be sold.” Customers in South Africa will be able to get their hands on Apple TV through the following Apple Premium Resellers and authorized dealers:
Apple hinted in November at its plans to add more features to Siri in the near future with a job listing that sought individuals to translate Siri into a handful of new languages. Today, we came across another interesting job listing posted by Apple. This one looks for a creative writer skilled in character-driven dialog to “help the Siri team evolve Siri as a distinct, recognizable character.” Not only will the person help “refresh and refine” existing Siri content, Apple is also looking for someone to “develop and write original dialog to support new Siri capabilities.”
Apple clearly thinks Siri’s personality and lifelike AI is just as important as her functionality, noting in the job ad that “Siri’s known for ‘her’ wit, cultural knowledge, and zeal to explain things in engaging, funny, and practical ways.” It looks like Siri’s witty responses will be something that Apple continues to focus on to differentiate Siri from the competition.
We’re looking for a uniquely creative individual to help us evolve and enrich Siri, our virtual personal assistant. Siri’s known for ‘her’ wit, cultural knowledge, and zeal to explain things in engaging, funny, and practical ways. The ideal candidate is someone who combines a love for language, wordplay, and conversation with demonstrated experience in bringing creative content to life within an intense technical environment.
We’ve been hearing for quite some time that Sprint planned to offer its TEP insurance plans to iPhone users, and now Engadget confirmed the $11 monthly plan will officially become available on Jan. 25. Much like the $99 AppleCare+, you’ll have 30 days from the time you purchase your device to add the TEP coverage. You will also be subject to a non-refundable deductible per claim ranging from $150 to $200. The plan will give you access to all of Sprint’s regular TEP coverage, which is a combination of its Equipment Replacement Program and Equipment Service & Repair Program.
We have heard a lot about HTC’s upcoming M7 smartphone expected to replace the company’s One X line in recent weeks. The rumored 4.7-inch device has some pretty impressive specs, including “several industry firsts,” according to recent reports. However, it certainly doesn’t have an industry-first design, if this new leaked image from UnwiredView is legit, and I think Apple might agree.
The report quoted a “trusted source” and claimed the image above is clipped from “a short animation clip instructing new owners on first-time SIM card installation” for the M7. It’s likely we’ll get our first real look at M7 next month during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The insanely popular, and addictive iOS game, Temple Run, took iGamers by storm over the past year. It got so popular that there is now merchandising in retails stores for it. The sequel to the first game will be releasing throughout the day on the iTunes App Store across the globe. Temple Run 2 is scheduled to hit the US App Store tonight at 11pm Eastern. New Zealand gamers can download the game now. Just like the first installment, Temple Run 2 will be available as a free download but does offer in-app purchases.
Be sure to check back often because we will update this post as Temple Run 2 becomes available.
We’re no strangers to the work of Martin uit Utrecht. His Rhinoceros 3D renderings based on leaked iPhone 5 parts were good enough to fool many, and we’re almost equally impressed with his latest mock ups of a thinner bezel iPad 5. Design inspiration in this case is of course taken from the iPad mini, which already sports a similar thin bezel, and is what many expect Apple will go for in the next iteration of the full-sized iPad. Martin also noted that the design allowed him to shave 4mm in height, 17mm in width, and 2mm in thickness compared to the current iPad 4 dimensions:
According to sources the design of the new iPad will follow the design language of the iPad mini.This 3D model was based on the accurate model which I made of the iPad mini but keeping the same display size as the large iPad.
iPad 5 vs iPad 3/4 dimensions:
height: 4mm less
width: 17mm less
thickness: 2mm less
“As word of the earlier production schedule starts to spread, we believe we could see a slight slowing of demand CQ1 in anticipation of the new product launch and Apple will likely start curtailing channel inventory. Therefore we tweak down our CQ1 iPhone shipment estimate from 48M to 44M, which is still well above widespread fears of shipments in the mid-30Ms.”
Back in December Misek also claimed the 5S is coming in June and at the time said he expects Apple to ship the device with multiple colors, improved battery life, and possibly a 4.8″ Retina/IGZO display. However, in today’s note Misek said there has been no additional evidence for the 4.8″ prototype signaling the design could be for the iPhone 6. Today he also added his thoughts on rumors of a low-cost iPhone, claiming Apple could release a low-cost device made of polycarbonate with no LTE and a 4″ non-retina display.
The cellular-capable version of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad will go on sale in China this Friday, according to a press release from Apple. The latest iPad models are already available in over 100 countries across the globe.
BEIJING―January 15, 2013―Apple® today announced the Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of iPad® mini and the new fourth generation iPad with Retina® display will be available in China on Friday, January 18. iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad are currently available in more than 100 countries worldwide including the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan and the UK.
The cellular iPads will be available in China via official Apple retail stores and authorized resellers.
Immediately following the release of the Microsoft Surface in November, Microsoft sent its Windows head Steven Sinofsky packing. Just a couple of months later, he is already trying out a new platform: iOS.
We were tipped to a tweet from Sinofsky (@stevesi) from January 11th that was sent from Twitter for iPhone. We soon discovered a second tweet from the same platform on January 4th. Sinofsky is still tweeting from his Microsoft Surface and the Web, but we don’t see as many Windows Phone-based tweets as we do earlier in his Twitter timeline.
International CES 2013 is officially ending, so we decided to share some of what we saw from the show floor and surrounding events. 9to5Mac has tons of CES coverage for some of the most interesting new iOS accessories, advancements in display technology, and new Apple-related products we saw at the show right here, but below we have put together a collection of photos and video we shot while walking the many acres of CES exhibits at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Enjoy.
In July 2011, a federal jury in Texas awarded “patent licensing company” Personal Audio LLC $8 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The jury found Apple infringed two valid patents related to downloadable playlists with its iOS devices as far back as the original iPod. One covered an “audio program player including a dynamic program selection controller,” while the other covered an “audio program distribution and playback system.” 9to5Mac has now learned Personal Audio LLC is attempting to target content creators directly, starting with a new patent infringement case in Texas against one of iTunes biggest podcasters, Adam Carolla’s Ace Broadcasting.
If the outcome of the case is anything like Personal Audio’s previous cases, it could have a major impact on podcasters and other content creators on iTunes and elsewhere. Personal Audio also sued and entered licensing agreements with Sirius XM Radio, Archos, Coby, RIM, Samsung, Amazon, and Motorola related to its downloadable playlist patents and others.
The new patent, issued just last year on Feb. 7, 2012, is quite broad and describes a “System for Disseminating Media Content Representing Episodes in a Serialized Sequence.” Personal Audio is also suing the popular Howstuffworks.com series, which like Ace Broadcasting, is a large podcasting presence on iTunes and across the web…
Amongst the crowded booths of case makers and Bluetooth speaker products at CES, today we came across a few interesting new iOS accessories hitting the market in the near future. The first is the i-Massager from China-based company E-Tek. The i-Massager is a certified medical TENS product (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) that uses an iPhone app to control the frequency and intensity of the massaging pulsations it emits. The app will be available on the App Store when the product eventually launches sometime in March, and it provides access to preset massage patterns while also allowing you to fine tune the experience and even save your preference to the unit for use without your iPhone at a later date. There will be a 30-pin version of the product for iPhone 4/4S and iPad 3, but also a Bluetooth variant that will launch for compatibility with Lightning iOS devices. The company hasn’t set a retail price, but hinted it should be well under $100.
The i-Massager wasn’t the only iOS-connected massage product being shown off at CES today. Below is a product called iMusic BodyRhythm. It is a massaging vest that syncs with the music on your iOS device. The product launched on a Kickstarter this morning, and it comes with a companion app that will allow you to select a song to sync the massage to, increase the intensity, and even play drums or shake the device to control the thumping of the massage while playing along to a song. You’ll also be able to use the massage vest without syncing it to music or an app. iMusic BodyRhythm is supposed to hit mass production for $149 retail in March, but we went hands-on today at CES:
Live from the CES show floor at the Las Vegas convention center, accessory maker Incipio just finished showing us their new product for iPhone. Known as a Cashwrap, and landing in March 2013, it is an NFC-enabled iPhone case that allows iOS users to take advantage of the ISIS Mobile Wallet service that officially launched in October on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon for NFC-enabled Android devices in select regions. Incipio also informed us that it has teamed up with AT&T on the project—making Cashwrap AT&T’s ISIS solution for iPhone coming.
The product will launch for iPhone 4 and 4S initially and will be available for sale through AT&T brick-and-mortar locations for $60 to $70. Incipio’s full press release and a short video of the Cashwrap up close and personal from the CES show floor below: Expand Expanding Close
Straight from the CES Unveiled event in Las Vegas, audio accessory maker Ion just introduced us to one if its latest creations— a hardware DJ controller kit called “Scratch 2 Go” that puts a physical crossfader, two sets of three control knobs for pitch, EQ, etc., and a two small platters right on the display of your iPad. The company also announced updated versions of its other DJ and Guitar controllers for iPad and iPhone…
The hardware controls attach to your iPad’s display via suction cups and essentially work like a stylus, allowing you to control elements of several DJ apps on the App Store. The hardware controls are designed specifically for the iDJ 2GO app that will also work with Ion’s just announced updated Lightning version of its iDJ 2 Go hardware DJ controls. However, Ion confirmed to us that it would also work with the popular djay app for iPad.
It could also work with other iOS DJ apps provided the stylus-like tip of any particular element of the 5-piece kit lines up with the controls inside the app you’re using. Ion is making the new Scratch 2 Go kit available in April for $30 through select retailers.
A video of the kit in action from the CES show floor below:
We have seen Apple’s Find My iPhone app come in handy in more than a few situations. It allows police to locate and retrieve stolen iOS devices, and so the app has proven to be an invaluable tool for combating iPhone thefts. However, over the weekend, a New York City man named Nadav Nirenberg took a bit more of a creative approach.
As reported by New York Post, after leaving his iPhone in a cab on New Year’s Eve, Nirenberg discovered the following morning via email alerts that someone was using his iPhone to message women with the dating app OkCupid. Rather than using one of the methods we’ve heard of in the past (Nirenberg likely didn’t have Find My iPhone set up), he decided to pose as a woman and offer the iPhone thief a date.
While not recommended, the idea was apparently effective with the thief arriving at Nirenberg’s apartment only to be greeted with a $20 bill and a hammer:
Little did he know that on his way up the stairs I would pop out behind him, calmly give him $20 for my phone (it was in his hand) and tell him the cops were on the way (with a hammer in my hand). RETRIBUTION! The look of immediate shame on his face was priceless, homie was shook and must feel like an idiot. Dude was all dressed up, had a bottle of wine and stank of cologne. As he was walking away I was surprised I said “You smell great tho”.
The 9to5Mac crew just touched down in Las Vegas for CES and to kick things off we have a slew of new products from Griffin, many of which we plan to get our hands on next week during the show.
First off, it’s introducing a new lineup of audio accessories including an updated Lightning version of the Studio Connect interface for iPad it launched last year (full review here). The new version will be available May 2013 for $149.99. We also get Griffin’s new Mic Stand Mount. It is a $39.99 iPad stand that works like a traditional microphone performance stand. Lastly for audio products, Griffin is launching an XLR to 3.5mm mic to bring studio-quality recording to iPads and iPhones (it’s available June 2013, but we hope to bring you a full review of the MicConnect soon).
Pictured to the right is another new accessory Griffin has at CES. The $99.99 charging cradle is known as the Power Dock 5. The dock accommodates iOS devices with cases and holds up to five full-sized iPads. It also launched the new WoodTones headphones made from responsibly harvested Beech, Sapele, and Walnut woods (pictured at top).
Griffin isn’t stopping there, as it is also launching a ton of new iOS accessories aimed at children including a partnership with Crayola to bring a digital stylus shaped like a thick Crayola marker ($29.99 with a free companion app this spring). Other kids’ products include the CrayolaColor & Play Workstation. Griffin described it as an “all-in-one iPad workstation that includes a built-in carrying handle and three storage cubbies for their crayons, markers and digital coloring tools like ColorStudio HD and DigiTools.”
The company is also teaming up with Nickelodeon to bring SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Dora the Explorer themed iOS accessories to market. Finally, it will show off its latest in the children’s KaZoo lineup with “new headphones, iPod touch cases, a charms lanyard kit and kid-friendly AUX cables themed after animals.” Expand Expanding Close
This is what CES looked like the last time Apple attended. J/K. Via the Verge
The 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show is almost here, with official CES show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center opening up next week on Jan. 8. To kick things off, hundreds of companies and the press will invade Las Vegas this weekend for three days of pre-show product demos, press conferences, and more from the majority of the tech industry’s biggest names. Samsung, Sony, NVIDIA, Intel, Toshiba, and LG are just a few of the companies with scheduled announcements, but there will surely be more than a few surprises with over 3,000 exhibitors setting up shop. Apple’s last official appearance at CES was in 1992 with John Sculley’s keynote introduction of the Newton, but its presence at the show remains with hundreds of new Apple-related products unveiled every year.
9to5Mac is on its way to Vegas to bring you full coverage of the best products from the show. But, until then, here’s a wrap-up of what we already know will be there and what else you can expect to see at CES 2013:
Ahead of CES 2013 taking place in Las Vegas next week, popular dock/speaker manufacturer iHome has teased its first Lightning-enabled line. The iPhone 5, iPad mini, and fourth-generation iPad enabled speakers are set to be shown off in-depth at the company’s booth next week, something many speaker manufacturers will look to do to highlight their Lightning-enabled products. The first is the iDL100 Triple Charging Stereo that will ship for $149.99 and be able to charge two devices through Lightning docks, and it features a USB dock for other devices and a 3.5MM headphone jack. Secondly, iHome will unveil another one of its retro boomboxes for $199 (as seen below). The iBT44 features wireless capabilities with Airplay, which uses Bluetooth to stream audio, and it sports USB charging. You bet we’ll take a closer look at CES next week, as the iDL100 with its triple charging looks especially interesting. Expand Expanding Close
Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs went on “Charlie Rose” last night to discuss a range of topics, including Apple.
Jacobs notably told an anecdote (around 3:00) of when he tried to persuade Apple in the 1990s to put a Qualcomm radio in the Newton PDA, but his pitch failed. He also apparently took his Newton to Palm, with it taped to a Palm Pilot brochure, and pitched the idea of integrating Palm’s OS into a Qualcomm smartphone. Of course, that device eventually became the Qualcomm PDQ. As Venture Beat noted, the PDQ is quite possibly the world’s first smartphone with a mobile, app-centered OS and cellular connectivity.
Jacobs further called Apple an amazing marketing company and credited the iPhone as helping to expand the curve of mobile. He also admitted the success of Qualcomm is directly tied to Apple’s mobile endeavors in recent years (around 13:00): “We were putting Internet protocols into the phone in the early 90s, but it wasn’t really breaking through to the mainstream.”
Google’s Sergey Brin revealed at the 2012 Google I/O Developers Conference in June that a pair of beta, or “Explorer Edition”, Google Glasses cost $1,500 and would start shipping to I/O attendees in 2013, but Lee realized the components to such a headset display must be readily available if Google was able to start developing one. And so, he decided to build his own—admittedly rough—version.
After promptly selecting an iOS-enabled, head-mounted Myvu video display, Lee tried to find an onboard computer:
I settled on a fourth-generation iPod Touch. I had to “jailbreak” it, which eliminates limitations built into the iOS software by Apple. Once that was done, I could mirror the Touch’s main display to the microdisplay using its composite video output. This choice of onboard computer meant that for a point-of-view camera (used to record images and video), I needed one that could communicate via the iPod Touch’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth wireless interfaces. I used a Looxcie Bluetooth camera, which is small enough to be mounted on the side of the frame once you strip it from its plastic shell; you can order it online for around $150. (I’m already building a second iteration of my prototype around a Raspberry Pi. This will allow more control over the camera than is currently possible with the iOS apps that work with the Looxcie and better integration of sensors such as accelerometers.)
Lee tested the prototype once the assembly process was over, and he noted his world immediately changed forever:
My world changed the day I first wore my prototype. At first there was disappointment—my software was rudimentary, and the video cable running down to the onboard computer was a compromise I wasn’t particularly pleased with. Then there was discomfort, as I felt overwhelmed while trying to hold a conversation as information from the Internet (notifications, server statuses, stock prices, and messages) was streamed to me through the microdisplay. But when the batteries drained a few hours later and I took the prototype off, I had a feeling of loss. It was as if one of my senses had been taken away from me, which was something I certainly didn’t anticipate.
Lee continued to give insight into how Google Glass and his iOS prototype could provide immense value. Unfortunately, he only corroborated his post with a few illustrations and no images. Go to IEEE for more details.
