iOS Devices

Following two reports earlier this month detailing Apple’s deal to move iCloud partly to Google’s Cloud Platform, as well as the company’s efforts at building out its own cloud infrastructure, The Information today offers new details on the projects.

Adding to a report from VentureBeat earlier this week, today’s report offers more details on what Apple is doing with“Project McQueen” that could see the company replacing third-party vendors with more of its own cloud infrastructure. The Information reports that Project McQueen is actually just one of at least six internal efforts at Apple including building its own servers, networking equipment, and “systems that could one day help developers to power their apps.”

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple deserves a great deal of credit for the iPhone SE. I outlined yesterday why I believe the product makes long-term strategic sense, and the vast majority of you agree. But Apple has also managed to tempt not just one but two 9to5Mac writers to do something almost unthinkable for tech junkies: downgrade our iPhones! Like Zac, I too am seriously considering selling my iPhone 6s and replacing it with the SE.

I’ve long been a fan of small-screened phones. I actually sat out both the iPhone 5 and 5s because neither seemed to me at the time to offer enough reason to upgrade. But there’s only so long I can be without the latest tech, so eventually I had to bite the bullet and buy first the iPhone 6 and then the 6s.

However, the iPhone SE comes very close to offering the best of both worlds: the latest tech and a smaller form-factor …

Expand
Expanding
Close

iOS 9.3’s headlining new feature is called Night Shift mode. By adjusting the color temperature of your iPhone or iPad’s display, Night Shift mode makes using your iOS device at night and in dark settings easier on your eyes.

Research has shown that by reducing the blue light emitted from a backlit display, it can become easier to fall asleep at night. Apple was very careful in its wording during yesterday’s iPhone SE event, letting us know that not everyone would enjoy similar results. That said, I’ve personally had good experience with like-minded utilities. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to get started with Night Shift on iOS 9.3.
Expand
Expanding
Close

We’ve been seeing a few reports of the iOS 9.3 upgrade bricking the iPad 2, with the devices failing to activate at the end of the update.

The specifics reported in an Apple Support Communities thread, tweets to @applesupport and via email suggests that it may be nothing more than Apple’s activation servers struggling under the load, but some are reporting that their devices have still failed to activate 24+ hours later.

A couple of solutions have worked for some …

Expand
Expanding
Close

As part of Apple’s Renew program, where the company is encouraging people to recycle their old devices to help the environment, Apple has posted some exclusive environmental wallpaper to download on its website. The URL (apple.com/thanks) is given out on cards in Apple Stores to people who recycle their old device in store, as a small gesture of appreciation.

However, the URL is open to anyone to visit and download some cute, exclusive, iOS 9 wallpaper that isn’t included in the default list of iOS wallpaper …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is the same dimensions as the iPad Air 2 on paper, but the device’s new 12-megapixel camera means your old iPad case probably won’t cut it. That is unless you cut it yourself to accommodate the new larger camera and flash that will make a larger opening on cases necessary for the new device. So your iPad Air 2 case won’t be a perfect fit, but there is already a long list of notable case makers with products available to order.  The only exceptions to that maybe are sleeve style cases that don’t have any camera openings.

But if you want a case that was truly made to fit your new 9.7-inch iPad Pro without any compromises, below we’ve put together a running list of the best new cases available now and coming soon. 

Expand
Expanding
Close

Although the new 9.7 inch iPad Pro is superior to the 2015 12 inch iteration in some regards, including better cameras and display, it appears the raw processor is not as identical as Apple implied in its presentation. Although both models have an A9X processor, the 9.7 inch version actually has half the RAM and a slightly-lower clock speed CPU (via @panzer). Whilst the big iPad Pro has 4 GB RAM, the 9.7 inch iPad Pro has just 2 GB like the iPhone 6s.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Small iPhone fans, rejoice! Apple has finally updated its 4-inch iPhone for the first time since the iPhone 5s in 2013. Dubbed the iPhone SE, Apple’s 2016 4-inch iPhone could pass for the iPhone 5s if you weren’t looking too close (save for the rose gold version), but how does it compare to its predecessor as well as the rest of the current iPhone lineup? We break it down below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Digitimes has a mixed track record of reliability with regard to Apple rumors, but its latest report gels with expectations. The report claims Apple is preparing new 13 inch and 15 inch MacBooks to launch in the summer, by July. Although the publication does not say this, it indicates that new MacBook Pros are on the horizon perhaps debuting at WWDC, Apple’s developer conference.

Given Intel’s CPU roadmap, Apple laptops featuring the new Skylake processors are due. Therefore, it is not that much of a stretch to believe this report. A key feature of Skylake is power efficiency, which would allow Apple to make dramatically thinner laptops.

Expand
Expanding
Close

There are tons of new features included with yesterday’s release of iOS 9.3, and Night Shift — the new feature that automatically adjusts the screen’s color temperature to reduce blue light — is arguably its best new addition.

Unfortunately, Night Shift is automatically disabled when you enable Low Power Mode on your iPhone. Thanks to a clever workaround, however, it’s possible to use Night Shift in combination with Low Power Mode. In the brief tutorial that follows, we’ll show you how.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Update: In a statement to CNBC, Apple has confirmed it is not planning to make an offer for Imagination Technologies. It did however hold some talks with the company about undisclosed topics.

ArsTechnica is reporting that Apple is in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire Imagination Technologies, makes of the PowerVR mobile GPU designs Apple licenses for its A9 and A9X SoCs. The company declined comment about any such acquisition of course. Apple began using Imagination Technologies GPUs since the Apple A4 chip. Rumors have been bubbling in recent years that Apple will eventually start designing its own mobile GPUs, in the same way it designs custom CPU silicon today. An acquisition of Imagination Technologies would be a clear signal the company is moving in that direction.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The new toys are official. The iPhone SE very nearly amounts to an iPhone 6 in an iPhone 5 casing, and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is effectively a smaller version of the 12.9-inch model.

While the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were Apple’s response to a large part of its customer base who were waiting impatiently for larger-screened phones, there were others who found them too big – either awkward to handle, or just too large to fit comfortably into some pockets. Those people were left with the choice between a 4-inch phone with out-dated specs, or a high-spec phone that was larger than they wanted.

The iPhone SE is a 4-inch iPhone with very few compromises. You don’t get 3D Touch, the front-facing camera is limited to 1.2MP stills and 720p video, and you don’t get the option of 128GB storage – but otherwise it has all the new toys: A9 chip, Apple Pay, Always-on ‘Hey Siri,’ 12MP rear camera, Live Photos, 4K video …

Expand
Expanding
Close

With the release of iOS 9.3 yesterday, Apple included a major new feature that may help you sleep better at night: Night Shift. Night Shift works by changing the color temperature of your screen gradually as the day changes. In Control Center, you can toggle this feature on and off manually. In Settings, you can setup iOS 9.3’s Night Shift so that it automatically shifts the blue light of your iPhone or iPad screen with a schedule. The schedule options are either preset times set by the user or an automatic schedule based on sunrise and sunset.

However, after updating to iOS 9.3, some users have complained that the automatic Sunrise/Sunset option is not available for their devices. It turns out this is not a bug, or limited to certain countries as people suggest. In fact there is a simple fix …

Expand
Expanding
Close

We’ve put together a supercut of the iPhone SE event that features all of the major product information discussed in under 10 minutes. If you’re pressed for time, but still want to tune in and see the event’s announcements, you can now do so in a mere 9 minutes and 22 seconds.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple earlier today officially took the wraps off of the iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch. While the two devices are largely similar to devices we’ve seen in the past, there are a few tweaks here and there that people have been requesting to get a look at. Members of the press who were in attendance of the event at Apple’s campus in Cupertino had an opportunity to go hands-on with the new iPhone and iPad and videos have been rolling in…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple earlier today officially took the wraps off of the oft-rumored iPhone SE. While the device is set to go up for pre-order on Thursday, March 24th and ship a week later, a handful of cases are already available for the device. While the device is largely identical to the iPhone 5/5s in terms of design, many companies are announcing new cases specifically for the latest 4-inch smartphone.

We’ve put together a roundup of some of the best choices to protect your iPhone SE below…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Update #2: Apple has responded to the latest filing from the Department of Justice saying that if the government is unable to succeed in unlocking the device on its own, Apple will demand to know everything about the method by which it tried.

Update: The judge has granted the DOJ’s motion to vacate the hearing.

Apple was set to face off against the FBI in court tomorrow regarding its refusal to unlock the iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen. Now, however, the government has moved to vacate tomorrow’s hearing, saying that it has found an outside method with which to unlock the iPhone.

Expand
Expanding
Close

As expected, Apple earlier today officially unveiled the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. While the device is essentially the same as the larger 12.9-inch model, there are a few notable differences that may perhaps frustrate users of the larger model, but also encourage iPad Air 2 users to upgrade. Read on as we break down all of the differences between the two models…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Following a lengthy beta period, Apple has now released iOS 9.3 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. iOS 9.3 is a significant feature update for Apple’s mobile operating system, with brand new additions like Night Shift, Touch ID Notes and more. iOS 9.3 runs on every iOS 9-capable device, including the brand new iPhone SE. The update appears to weigh in at a hefty 1.7 gigabytes.

See our full walkthrough of all the new iOS 9.3 features after the break …

Expand
Expanding
Close