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.
The front side of an alleged 4.5-inch iOS device with the elongated home button. Click for larger.
One would assume case vendors would stop making oversized iPhone cases now that we have a pretty clear picture of the iPhone 4-like design of the iPhone 4S. Not Hard Candy Cases, a mobile accessories company which decided to ramp up manufacturing for a range of cases seemingly designed for a mystery iOS device with a 4.44-inch display. According toCult of Mac editor Leander Kahney who profiled the company, they claimed to have “received identical data about the device from three sources”. Per their info, this device “is significantly bigger than the iPhone 4, but the case tapers, making it feel a lot thinner”. Here are some of the cases in question.
The design also calls for a large, lozenge-shaped home button that they say could lend itself well to the new Assistant feature believed to stem from Apple’s acquisition of Siri, an artificial intelligence company. From the mouth of Hard Candy CEO Tim Hickman, the design also includes the teardrop-shaped form factor:
The mystery device is wider, taller and thinner than the iPhone 4. It has a tapered design which makes it feel very slim. It has a much larger screen than anyone is expecting — 4.44-inches diagonal. The Home button is lozenge-shaped. The mystery device is 4.83-inches tall, 2.63-inches wide, and .28-inches thick. It is thicker at the top than the bottom. Other external details are similar to the iPhone 4, except the Mute button has been moved to the other side.
Hickman believes it could represent a new iPod touch…
The back side of an alleged 4.5-inch iOS device. Click for larger.
We’ve got international pricing for the iPhone 4S (N94) that Apple is announcing tomorrow. The conversion to U.S. subsidized equivalents is obviously not clear cut math, but we think we may have figured it out. According to our source, the price of the unlocked 64GB iPhone 4S will replace the price of the current 32GB iPhone 4. In addition, the price of the new 32GB iPhone 4S will replace the price of the current 16GB iPhone 4.
With this knowledge, we think it’s highly likely that the 64GB iPhone 4S will cost $299, the 32GB will cost $199, and the 16GB will drop down to $99 in the United States. The 8GB iPhone 4 (N90A) will most likely cost $49, which will replace the current $49 iPhone 3GS price point. MacRumorsreports that Apple will soon begin sales of an unlocked iPhone 3GS. A free iPhone 3GS on contract seems to make sense here.
October 14th launch date, Apple Stores to open at 7AM and some to close at midnight:
The Wall Street Journalis reporting that Sprint, the third largest wireless operator in the US, is figuratively “betting the company” on the iPhone, having committed to buy 30.5 million iPhones – at a cost that could only be described as sureal. Citing the obligatory “people familiar with the matter”, the Journal wrote that Dan Hesse, the CEO, told the board in August that Sprint “would likely lose money on the deal until 2014”. He also convinced the board that the lack of the iPhone was “the No. 1 reason customers leave or switch”. The board then signed off on the so-called “Sony” project, even though they were aware of a “staggering” hit to Sprint’s operating income, because they realized Sprint couldn’t compete otherwise:
Mr. Hesse told the board the carrier would have to agree to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years—a commitment of $20 billion at current rates—whether or not it could find people to buy them, according to people familiar with the matter. In order to keep the price people pay for the phone low and competitive with rivals, Sprint would be subsidizing the cost of each phone to the tune of about $500, which would take a long time to recoup even at the high monthly fees iPhone users pay.
Directors debated what they had just heard. Some worried the payoff would be too long in coming. One member questioned whether the multiyear deal might outlast the iPhone’s popularity. To sell that many iPhones, Sprint would have to double its rolls of contract customers, convert all of them to the Apple device or a combination of the two.
Also surreal to say the least: BGRhas heard that Sprint will actually get the rumored iPhone 5, which is said to be a 4G WiMax device. The story has it that Verizon Wireless and AT&T get to wait out until the first quarter of 2012 before launching a 4G LTE version of iPhone 5 on their respective networks. This could also explain why Verizon sided with Samsung in Apple litigation (and AT&T smartly kept their mouths shut).
Whichever way you look at it, the Sprint iPhone deal is HUGE. Apple has just secured additional shipments of up to eight million iPhones annually for the next four years. It’s reasonable that Sprint would sell that many iPhones a year and the deal would boost Apple’s annual revenues by five billion dollars. It also sends out a clear message to carriers that don’t yet carry the iPhone: Either you pay through the nose and get the phone that can turn your fortunes around or risk getting left behind.
Because everything else surrounding tomorrow’s iPhone 5 launch has already become monumental. If you ask analysts, the launch will be a smooth sail. As you know, Apple CEO Timothy Cook is widely expected to address media at the Cupertino headquarters tomorrow at 10am PT, taking the wraps off Apple’s next-generation handset: The iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 or whatever you want to call it.
It’s gonna be a career-defining presentation for Apple’s new boss, his first following the August 24 resignation of Steve Jobs. No doubt investors will be searching for signs of the reality-distortion field in Cook’s keynote address while pundits weigh in on his on-stage persona and charisma. But what about the general public and consumers outside the core base?
These folks couldn’t care less about all the brouhaha – they just wanna a brand spanking new iPhone. “Consumers view Apple products as a must-have”,says Channing Smith, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund, which owns Apple shares. “Apple phones and products have become almost a necessity. We don’t expect them to falter.”
ChangeWave says demand for the next iPhone is off the charts. Granted, Cook might face a difficult task convincing buyers to take the plunge in the economy like this. Let’s not forget the onslaught of powerful Android smartphones offered at various price points, form factors and networks.
Despite those obstacles, analysts are upbeat about the perfect storm of factors working towards Apple’s biggest product launch yet. The iPhone brand is mature, established and still iconic. Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White is calling for long lines stemming from the pent-up demand and unprecedented media blitz. At a time of broad market decline, he writes in a Monday note to clients:
We would rather own Apple than any other tech company in the current environment.
And Janney Capital Markets analyst Bill Choi predicts 84 million iPhones in 2011 and about 107 million iPhone shipments in 2012:
Apple is well positioned to capture an enormous profit pool as mobility and content worlds converge.
Choi also expects a new iPhone with the aluminum back resembling the MacBook Air, even though our manufacturing sources saw no signs of a major redesign. A general consensus among analysts is that the launch will shatter the 1.7 million iPhone 4s sold during the launch weekend.
Macgasm.netreports that Verizon Wireless is demanding its Salt Lake City employees work “unlimited overtime” Tuesday as “it’s clear that Verizon is expecting something big to drop THAT DAY”, implying the next iPhone will be available beginning tomorrow – a stretch, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Ticonderoga Securities’ Brian White singles out five reasons why it will knock everyone off their seat, as reported by Fortune’sPhilip Elmer-DeWitt:
Following a questionable list of iPhone 5 specs seen on the website of carrier Cincinnati Bell and iPhone 5 references that surfaced in Radio Shack’s inventory system, the German branch of British multinational carrier Vodafone – which in the United States has a 45% ownership stake in Verizon Wireless – references the yet unreleased 8GB iPhone 4 model in addition to the rumored iPhone 4S.
Specifically, as first reported byiPhone-Ticker.de, the 8GB iPhone 4 model is being referenced on the carrier’s online store, available in black and white. Last month, Reuters reported that suppliers are building the 8GB iPhone 4 model which the news gathering organization claimed was the inexpensive iPhone the rumor-mill’s been hyping about.
In addition, the site makes mention of the black and white iPhone 4S, each in 16/32/64GB flavors, confirming the findings of 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman. As for the Vodafone Germany, remember they are Apple’s high-profile partner that carries the iPhone 4 in Germany alongside Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile. To get a clearer picture of the next iPhone, check out our exhaustive overview of late rumors and what we’re expecting from tomorrow’s presser.
You can rent movies and television shows on iTunes, but not apps for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. That could change as compelling evidence surfaces just a day before Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event that app rentals might be in the works.
The Tech Errapoints to some code strings, uncovered by Sonny Dickson from iTunes 10.5 Beta 9, that strongly suggest such a feature could be unveiled at tomorrow’s press conference. The contents of the strings (seen below) clearly points to the app rental ability. Any rented app will be automatically removed from your devices, including your computer, after the rental period expires, one of the string reads:
Apps are automatically removed from your iTunes library at the end of the rental period.
This could be an interesting twist to today’s App Store rules that make a clear distinction between paid and free apps, here’s why.
Here’s our roundup for Tuesday’s Apple event and what we’re expecting.
Let’s talk iPhone: Even though there is no concrete evidence for an iPhone redesign, many are still speculating (we call you “5ers”!) and reporting that one is coming at this event. Because of lack of evidence for a redesign, we believe that Apple will introduce only an iPhone 4S on Tuesday. Here’s what we know:
iPhone 4S (N94) shows up in iTunes with the design of the CDMA iPhone 4. This points to the iPhone 4S gaining the Verizon iPhone 4 antenna – which makes sense for a global GSM/CDMA device. After all, the Verizon iPhone packs the dual-mode Qualcomm Gobi chip.
This N94 device shows up in Apple’s inventory system for an imminent launch in 3 different configurations.
Just days ahead of the scheduled Tuesday, October 4th iPhone-focused media event, Apple has put up banners at their campus auditorium. The banner at building 4 of the Cupertino home base shows the same icons as the ones placed on the event invitations to the media. Thanks, Connor!
Funny, because it is true? SNL’s Seth Meyers tackles the Fire vs. iPad debate at 48 secs in (YouTube).
[vodpod id=Video.15495947&w=650&h=420&fv=]
You know, no one is really talking about this, but at a smaller 7 inches and priced at $199, the Kindle Fire is more of an iPod touch competitor than a iPad competitor…at least as far as budgets and capabilities are concerned.
Gizmodo Brazilhas gotten their hands on the cheaper iPhone 4, which is codenamed N90A. The cheaper iPhone 4 was spotted at Brazil’s new Foxconn plant, which means we’ll likely start seeing our first “Made in Brazil” devices from Apple next week. The phone looks identical to the iPhone 4 of today, and will likely pack less storage than today’s models; 8GB in all likelihood. Their report corroborates our claims of an N90A iPhone 4 appearing in Apple’s inventory system for an imminent launch. Be sure to read our report about the iPhone 4S, the successor to the iPhone 4 of today.
While we have independently been expecting the new iPhone to feature little exterior differences from the iPhone 4, there still has been some debate over the new iPhone’s design. Today, rumors of a re-design can essentially be put to rest. Inside the latest iTunes beta is a specific mention of the “iPhone 4S.” Along with the new iPhone name of “iPhone 4S” comes an image, and it is of a CDMA iPhone 4.
Unless Apple still has the CDMA iPhone 4 as a placeholder image until the new iPhone is announced, we’re fairly confident that the iPhone 4S will pack the CDMA iPhone design. iTunes only holds two iPhone 4S references: black and white versus the four iPhone 4 references of black/GSM, black/CDMA, white/GSM, and white/CDMA. This may also confirm the rumors of the new iPhone being a dual-mode/CDMA + GSM handset.
This is from a new source. The results aren’t surprising so we’re posting here. We’re thinking these are going to be available sooner rather than later after the announcement. Expand Expanding Close
The video above is the work of artist Jan-Michael Cart who was contacted by MacRumors to put together this concept video of Apple’s new iOS 5 feature that we detailed just a few weeks ago.
Below is another artist rendition showing off what the Assistant interface might look like based on sources with “knowledge of the feature”. We can verify that these are relatively accurate including the purple swirl around the mic which our source saw in a prototype device. Remember this can also be used from the lock screen as well.
Reddit user TheReverndZ shows the text he just got from AT&T. He was over 11GB (!!) today for the month which is pretty hefty to say the least. Next month, he’s probably going to get throttled as per the news we broke in June.
Starting October 1, smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle. Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.
Don’t laugh Verizon users. Yours is coming too. Sprint, for the record, says it won’t throttle guys like Skelatwork, if they get the iphone Expand Expanding Close
The images above and below aren’t just photoshopped mock ups of the iPhone 5, but actually images of a physical, homemade iPhone based on case leaks, known hardware components, and rumors.
Ben Miller over at BenM.atput together the prototype, equipped with glass for the display and machined from a block of aluminum, Ben describes the process of creating it as similar to the iPad.
The prototype takes the rumored teardrop and rounded back design into account, going from 6.86mm thick at the top to 5.33mm thick at the bottom. It’s also 59.94 mm wide, which is a bit wider than the 58.6 mm wide iPhone 4. You’ll also notice the rumored oval shaped Home button. More images after the break and you can also check out a video here. Expand Expanding Close
Apple has made its concerns official. The iPhone maker fears Samsung tablet will lure consumers away from the powerful iTunes ecosystem. Apple’s been successfully leveraging iTunes to tie people to the platform through app and entertainment content sales.
The heated Apple vs. Samsung legal battle over who’s copying who is really about the ecosystem rather than the hardware or the patents. That’s the gist of today’s hearing before the Federal Court in Sydney related to an Apple-requested ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia. According toSmh.com.au, lawyers for Apple argued that the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 could take away iPad 2 sales so quickly that buyers may be “seduced” from the iOS platform.
It’s all about the apps and the broader ecosystem, Apple’s legal team told Justice Annabelle Bennett, arguing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 “is vastly the one that is going to be targeting the iPad 2”. IDC numbers released today suggest that that tablet shipments to Australia and New Zealand doubled sequentially in the June quarter, which the research firm attributed to an influx of Android tablets recently released into those markets.
Apple’s lawyers then resorted to the “fire hose” metaphor to make their case:
This is going to be launched on the market with the velocity of a fire hose and it is going to just come in and take away iPad 2 sales so quickly that by the time we get to final hearing the full impact of the patent infringement will be to the detriment of Apple and to the benefit of Samsung.
And this bit about the battle of ecosystems:
They’ll then be Android people and the investment in the apps that they make to purchase on their Galaxy Tab will be something they can’t use on an Apple product.
2K Sports chose the iPhone 5 day to launch its multi-platform basketball series on iOS devices. NBA2K12 will be hitting Apple’s iPhone and iPad for the first time next Tuesday, October 4. CNETplayed the game and walked away pretty impressed. Animations are great and console-like, down to the Signature Style shooting moves. NBA2K12 supports Apple’s Game Center and sports Michael Jordan classic battles. In fact, it’s the first time the famous basketball player has adorned any mobile gaming platform. As for playing modes:
You have the standard Quick Game; there’s a full 82-game Season Mode with player transactions; Playoff Mode, where you’ll skip the regular season and jump right into the games that count; and Situation Mode, which allows you to create custom scenarios where you can try to comeback from 5 points down with a minute left.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the new iPhone appearing in the inventory system is that the model number is similar to the one from a purported ‘iPhone 4S’ packaging label we spotted yesterday on a Chinese forum. We quickly dismissed the label as fake due to its unknown origin, but it is now possibly real. The model number from the label is MD239 (a 16GB unit), while the model number for the “better” (likely 32GB unit) is MD234. According to Mr. X, this sequence is sensible, but could just be a coincidence. If legitimate, the next-generation iPhone will be marketed as the iPhone 4S, but we definitely would not call that anywhere near confirmed. Another tidbit: IMEI and MEID being together on the label would seem to confirm this new iPhone to be GSM+CDMA (thanks @rokorre!).
Following up on our report yesterday that two new tweaked iPhone 4 models have appeared in the system, we are now hearing that the two models represent black and white units. The N90A is likely an 8GB iPhone 4 that comes in black and white.
iPods too!
We are also hearing that all three iPod touch capacities will be seeing price drops in certain international countries. The price drops for the 32GB and 64GB models will be minimal – perhaps due to currency fluctuations – but the 8GB pricing will change substantially. Translated, the 8GB iPod touch may even reach the $199 price point or below again in the United States, but that is unconfirmed. With the release of the $199 8GB Kindle Fire yesterday, a move like this from Apple makes sense.
According to a poorly translated report from Macotakara, China Unicom’s Deputy Director of Research has confirmed an iPhone 5 with HSPA+ capabilities (21Mbps) during a keynote at Macworld Asia 2011. The image above is from the presentation viaPC Watch.
Japanese IT News Site ” PC Watch “Tells That, Research vice president of China Unicom , Huan Wenliang, told iPhone five Will Support W-CDMA based high-speed Data Transfer standard HSPA Evolution “HSPA +” (21Mbps) at Keynote speech in Macworld Asia 2011.
We’ve heard rumors that Apple is in early testing of LTE-capable test devices, and we know AT&T has already started rolling out their HSPA+ tech and even marketing HSPA devices as “4G”.
Curiously, the Qualcomm Gobi MDM6600 chips found in the Verizon iPhone support HSPA+ data rates of up to 14.4 Mbps. Analysts are expecting a 4G LTE iPhone in 2012. (via MacRumors and MacPost)
Following-up on a Mashablestory that Facebook will launch its long-awaited iPad app at Apple’s ‘Let’s talk iPhone’ media event next Tuesday, TechCrunch has just reported that Facebook’s iPad app is “about to launch”. It’s been ready to go for a while, writes author MG Siegler, and that goes for Project Spartan, too, an HTML5 web app store for Facebook apps. The Facebook for iPad app and Project Spartan are now “joined at the hip”, Siegler writes, noting “one will not launch without the other” (and Apple is cool with that).
Facebook’s iPad app is about to launch. That too has been ready to go for a while now, but it has been held up by some internal back-and-forth between Apple and Facebook. And Project Spartan has been waiting on that iPad app. […] Earlier this week, Mashable reported that Facebook’s iPad app would launch at Apple’s iPhone event this coming Tuesday. For what it’s worth, we’ve heard Facebook is actually planning to launch the iPad app at their own iPad/Spartan event on Monday. But they’re still discussing all of this with Apple. And Apple has been well known to change things at the last second. It is possible that they want Facebook to launch this on stage at their event to showcase some of the new HTML5 capabilities of iOS 5 (which will also be formally unveiled at the event).
Apple is understood to have partnered with Facebook on Project Spartan and the social networking giant is said to tap tens of millions of iPhone users to get the word out.
Nuance released Dragon Go! for the iPhone back in July and we praised the program’s combination of intelligent search capabilities coupled with Nuance’s phenomenal voice recognition technology. Today, Dragon Go! (free download) has been updated with a number of new services that the app taps to deliver accurate results based on your natural-language voice input. Specifically, they added support for Google+ public posts, media content on Netflix and Spotify and search engines Ask.com and Wolfram|Alpha.
Additionally, improved Yelp support now means you can access a map view right within Yelp. You will recall that Nuance powers speech-to-text integration in iOS 5 where a user just taps the microphone icon on the virtual keyboard, speaks aloud and the speech becomes text. The feature ties nicely to the Assistant, a surprise feature allegedly exclusive to iPhone 5 that lets you ask the handset to perform complex operations simply by speaking natural-language commands. Release notes after the break.
What’s most interesting about these fake iPhones is that they were made from real iPhone parts. The assumption is that the companies that made supplies for Apple would make additional parts and sell them to third parties who would somehow assemble a Frankenstein of iPhone and non-iPhone parts together and sell them at double the cost.
The cost to make one fake iPhone, which used some genuine parts, was around 2,000 yuan ($313). It was sold on unauthorized markets and on the Internet for around 4,000 yuan, only a few hundred yuan cheaper than the real iPhone, the newspaper said.
The fake iPhones had the same functions as the genuine ones but had a shorter battery life, it quoted the police as saying.
It would be interesting and surprising if they got iOS working on these. I’m guessing a flavor of Android with a iOS-like skin was used. Apple would have a big problem on their hands if iOS was being pirated.
