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.
Well known iOS accessory maker Griffin Technology just announced the TechSafe Case for iPad 2, a protective polycarbonate case equipped with a 4-digit combination-lock and cable system for tethering the device to an anchor point.
“The TechSafe Case is the ideal solution to protect your iPad 2 while on the go,” said Matt Brown, Director of Category Management at Griffin Technology. “It takes only a few seconds to lock down your iPad, and it removes any opportunity for theft.”
Much like the Kensington SecureBack Security Cases we told you about a couple weeks back, the TechSafe Case is of course best suited for schools, offices, and other public settings where potential theft or damage is a concern. The design is a little more subtle than the SecureBack case, and at first glance seems like it would be more secure.
The case also has the typical foldout stands, one for “typing and tapping”, and the other for viewing content in landscape orientation. You also have easy access to the 30-pin connector, volume rocker, and power and home buttons. Griffin will even store your 4-digit code on their website in case you forget it.
As Apple’s October 4th event approaches, two of Apple’s announcements have been revealed in Apple’s internal inventory system. The first is a new iPod touch. Three new iPod touch models have appeared in the system with the codename N81A. N81 is the codename for the fourth-generation black iPod touch, so the A likely represents the string of the three new white models. A device that we first revealed proof of plans for with a white fourth generation iPod touch front-plate. Since there are only three new iPod touch models – at this time – it’s likely that the black models won’t be updated. This also likely means the storage capacities will stay at their current 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities.
Even more interesting are the two new iPhone SKUs that have showed up in the system. The catch is that these two SKUs are actually marked as tweaked iPhone 4s. The new device’s codename is N90A and this represents very minor changes from the iPhone 4 – which is the N90. In fact, this may be an iPhone 4 – an 8GB version as previously rumored. It is very possible that the two SKUs mean black and white models, but that is unconfirmed. We don’t think Apple’s next-generation iPhone – coming next week- would be labeled as an N90A – as it includes major internal hardware upgrades that would typically constitute a new codename. Additionally, the iPhone codename of N94 has appeared in the iOS SDK on numerous occasions.
A study today from independent ad network InMobi gives us insight into the number of smartphone users currently planning on buying the new iPhone 5. The report claims 41% of current mobile users in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico plan on making the upgrade, this in comparison to Nielson’slatest numbers which as of August put Apple at 28% of the U.S. market.
We know the introduction of a new iPhone next week will eventually begin to sway the numbers in Apple’s favor. InMobi’s study shows 50% of the 41% of users planning on making the upgrade will do so in the first six months following launch.
The report does provide numbers if Apple were to only introduce an iPhone 4S upgrade (akin to the 3GS). In this scenario, the study finds only 15% of mobile users plan on making the switch.
Of those interested in making the jump to an iPhone 5, the study found 52% of BlackBerry users, 51% of current iPhone users, and 27% of Android users, plan on upgrading. When it comes to an incremental iPhone 4S upgrade, 28% of BlackBerry owners still intend on making the purchase. Expand Expanding Close
Apple, iPhone and iPod dominated the 2009 CoolBrands index, but this year the British luxury car maker Aston Martin topped the charts, reportedThe Telegraph. The votes came from the British public and a panel of influential opinion formers. True, coolness is subjective and personal, but it doesn’t hurt being described as cool (and Apple often is). Apple has been described in the CoolBrands results (PDF download) as “sleek, stylish design combined with powerful, groundbreaking technology make Apple’s unique products iconic must-haves around the world”.
As for Aston Martin:
Aston Martin combines three key elements – power, beauty and soul. Its sleek, polished and sexy cars ensure the brand continues to dominate the list of the nation’s coolest brands, as judged by experts and consumers alike.
For the first time, Apple, iPhone and iPod have been treated as one (no iPad?). Apple came in second, followed by…
If you want to buy an iPod shuffle or iPod classic from Apple, you should do it sooner rather than later. We’ve heard those two iPods are getting the axe this year.
The idea is that Apple wants to focus on touch screen devices that have some innovation left in them. Saving some serious time and effort, here is what we wrote two weeks ago:
The idea of a next-generation iPhone shaped like a teardrop dates back to a report published by This is my next in late-April, describing a 3.7-inch iPhone with edge-to-edge glass and striking new design shape akin to the late-2010 MacBook Air, meaning thicker to thinner from top to bottom. Piggy-backing on the story, agile Asian vendors followed up with teardrop-shaped cases. Or so we thought.
While we will ‘talk iPhone’ next Tuesday, M.I.C. Gadgetreveals that an iPhone 5 prototype had recently gone missing from the Shenzhen district. “This should explain why we are seeing a whole lot of iPhone 5 cases in China today”, the publication concludes.
Much like the widely publicized iPhone 4 prototype that had gone missing at a German beer bar in California, the missing handset was camouflaged in an iPhone 4-like case (strange because the teardrop phone is wider and taller). Inside: A test model with a finalized iPhone 5 chassis sporting the teardrop design. The publication then builds on this tip by speculating that the device houses “slightly modified iPhone 4 electronics” plus the A4 chip “and even the same amount of memory”.
If this is true, then the tear drop iPhone may be the low end device, and the one inside the iPhone 4 case might be the high end.
T-Mobile’s CMO Cole Brodman recently published a letter addressing customers regarding the iPhone. While yesterday he confirmed the carrier would not be receiving the new iPhone come October, he described their desire to offer a “no-compromise iPhone experience” to current users:
“We’ve heard from many customers who love their T-Mobile service, but are disappointed that we don’t carry the iPhone. To these customers, first, thank you for your business. Please know that we think the iPhone is a great device and Apple knows that we’d like to add it to our line-up. Today, there are over a million T-Mobile customers using unlocked iPhones on our network. We are interested in offering all of our customers a no-compromise iPhone experience on our network.”
Of course the ability to capitalize on the over 1 million iPhone users currently on T-Mobile’s network that purchased the device elsewhere would be a huge advantage. Brodman then points out the carrier’s other offerings with the recently launched Galaxy S II and notes Android is outpacing iPhone in “consumer adoption, market share and capabilities like support for faster 4G networks”. He did, however, reiterate the carrier’s desire to get an iPhone in their lineup yesterday saying it’s in Apple’s hands now and that they are waiting for “that call”.
The Loopreports that Apple has finally confirmed the long-awaited media event. The wait will soon be over: Apple has scheduled a press conference next Tuesday, October 4. The event will take place at Apple’s home turf, its Cupertino campus in California at 10am PT, as rumored. If an email invitation is any indication, this will definitely be an iPhone-focused media event. AllThingsDhas it on good authority that Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the presentation, a first for Cook in his new CEO role.
As 9to5Macreported yesterday, Apple’s next iPhone will sport a dual-core A5 chip from iPad 2 with nine times faster graphics, giving the handset a leg up over the latest Android phones in the graphics department and gaming. The processor will pack in 1GB of RAM, twice as much as the iPhone 4’s A4 chip or iPad 2’s A5 processor.
Camera on the back will be upgraded to eight megapixels and will sport a backlit sensor that takes incredibly high-resolution and clear shots, even in low light conditions. The camera app might support panorama photography. Other treats include a Qualcomm Gobi baseband chip so a single hardware SKU should address both GSM and CDMA networks.
The biggest selling point is understood to be a voice activated feature called Assistant, stemming from Apple’s acquisition of Siri, a search intelligence startup. The “Let’s talk iPhone” tagline on the invitation could be deciphered as a subtle hint at Assistant.
AllThingsDtakes a look at an interesting line of upcoming toys from Disney which take advantage of Apple’s iPad in unusual ways. Writer Tricia Duryee explains that AppMATes, as they call those toys, interact with the iPad’s display:
In a live demonstration, Bart Decrem, general manager of Disney Mobile, showed me how it works. First, he placed a miniature car on the iPad’s screen to create a bond with the game — no Bluetooth or wires needed. As Decrem moved the toy car across the screen, the game reacted: Cars skidded out in the mud, knocked over buildings and honked their horns, startling tractor-shaped cows.
There are areas to explore, per-toy achievements to unlock, a bunch of upgrades and power-ups and what not. The idea is likely to appeal to six-year olds, especially if the popularity of Apple’s tablet amongst youngsters is anything to go by. AppMATes are arriving on store shelves October 1, including the Apple Store and Disney Store.
The game will be a free download and toys will cost twenty bucks a pop. Disney will initially sell four characters from their animated movie “Cars 2”: Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. By the way, Disney, you may wanna consider changing the name – it sounds a lot like Playmates. Just a thought. Another video right after the break.
Skype today updated the native iPad app as well as its iPhone/iPod touch counterpart. The Skype for iPad app now has support for Bluetooth headsets on iPad 2 and contains a “bugfix for security vulnerability”. Plus, the program supports both iPad and iPad 2. The Skype for iPhone/iPod touch also enables Bluetooth support on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and fourth-gen iPod touch.
Image stabilization and emoticons are now also part of the picture (no pun intended). It appears that image stabilization works only when using your rear camera. There has to be some trade-off, right? Adverts! According to release notes, “advertising will be shown to users that do not have Skype Credit, a calling subscription or premium subscription”. Skype is even making the case for their advertising platform, as they call it:
As with our recent Mac update, there will be an advertising platform introduced in this new release. Paying Skype consumers or users with Skype Credit will not see any display ads on their iPhones or iPads. The iPhone update also includes an important security fix.
As most people don’t use Skype Credit, we imagine rubbing their nose into the upgrade offering will be annoying, to say the least. Instead of up-selling us to a paid service, can we please get an elegant interface instead? Check out the image stabilization feature in Skype’s clip, embedded below. The official Skype blog has more information. Full changelog after the break.
A native Facebook app for iPad was rumored to be in the works for months and numerous blogs have reported it would launch soon, even big newspapers such as the New York Times. Facebook’s “awesome launch” has come and gone, they integrated with Skype but left millions of iPad fans disappointed with the never-explained absence of iPad functionality. And now, slim hopes have been dashed further by Facebook engineer Jeff Verkoeyen who pulled a Joe Hewitt.
The engineer quit for Google to work on back-end stuff for Android. He blogged about his frustration that Facebook wouldn’t release the iPad app he’s been working on since January of this year. According toBusiness Insider, the app “has been basically done for months” and Verkoeyen “put a ton of time into it:
It was feature-complete back in May, he writes, but Facebook kept pushing its release out another two weeks, then another. Now, he thinks it “may never be released.”
Of course, the iPad app was in an old Facebook for iOS build but they took it out, most likely because Facebook wants folks to use the web interface. Besides, Facebook has never been strong in mobile.
Verkoeyen later reached out to Business Insider saying he updated his blog post to remove details about the iPad app. “It’s no reflection on Facebook as a company, which is an incredible place to work,” he said of the post. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a CNBCinterview that Facebook would probably, someday, release an iPad app.
We’re listening to T-Mobile’s CMO Cole Brodman talk about the future of the network and its possible merger with AT&T. On the possibility of getting the iPhone, he reiterated his earlier comments, that T-Mobile would not be getting the iPhone, though he seems to have clarified that it is not coming in any shape or form on T-Mobile (unless you count the roughly 1 million iPhones bought elsewhere currently running on the network). Previously, he said iPhone 5 wasn’t coming.
He did seem to be pandering to Apple saying that they are waiting by the phone for ‘that call’.
In a new study from Nielsen for the month of August, Android is continuing to grow reaching 43% of all smartphone owners, up from 40% in July. This in contrast to Apple’s 28% share, which according to Nielsen, has been static since June.
It’s important to note, however, that Android’s increase was largely due to the decline of the “other” category, which fell from 13% to 11% thanks to poor performance from Microsoft and Palm. RIM also lost share falling 1 percentage point to 18%, which contributed to Android’s rise as well. Of course this was also the first summer where Android wasn’t met with a new iPhone to compete for new smartphone acquirers.
The report is quick to note that the introduction of a new iPhone next month could easily sway the numbers in Apple’s favor, at the very least for recent acquirers, which the survey put Apple at 28% in comparison to an impressive 56% for Android during the month of August. Expand Expanding Close
If you crack open the casing of the new iPhone, you will find significant upgrades from the iPhone 4. The new iPhone features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor like the iPad 2 for even faster performance, better gaming, and drastically improved graphics. Apple didn’t stop there though. Unlike the iPad 2, the new iPhone packs 1GB of RAM, according to a source familiar with the SOC’s manufacturing. That not only means better web browsing, but more importantly, new background tasks that Apple will introduce in the new iPhone’s software will perform much better.
The new iPhone will also feature an upgraded camera system. In terms of hardware, the new camera is an 8 megapixel sensor that takes incredibly high-resolution and clear shots, even in low light conditions because it has a backlit sensor. Also, panorama photography references have been found in the iOS SDK on multiple occasions which means we’ll likely see that feature. Other than that, the camera front-end system is reportedly mostly the same.
The new iPhone also contains Qualcomm Gobi Baseband chips that allow it to operate on both GSM and CDMA networks. We can’t yet confirm or deny the rumors that Apple was building a virtual SIM card system or if it has an NFC chip yet, however.
Although some may be happy with the new iPhone’s substantial internal hardware boosts, the new device’s biggest selling point is actually a software feature called Assistant. As we first revealed, Assistant is Apple’s Siri-inspired, system-wide voice navigation system. It so far appears that iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS users will be left out in the fun, unfortunately, because the feature requires the A5 CPU and additional RAM.
Everything you could possibly want to know about Assistant is after the break…
It’s litigation day as Apple and Samsung battle it out in courts the world over. In a two-day hearing which began this morning in Australia a judge asked for more time to study Apple’s claims, resulting in a brief Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch delay until the end of the month. Meanwhile, the first round of hearings is underway in The Hague over Samsung’s accusations that Apple’s iPad and iPhone infringe on Samsung’s wireless patents. The Korean company is seeking a ban on those products in The Netherlands.
Apple is represented by Rutger Kleemans (Freshfields) while Samsung’s legal counsels are headed by Bas Berghuis (Simmons & Simmons). Per information sourced from Webwerld editor Andreas Udo de Haes on Twitter and this Nu.nlreport, Apple says Samsung is seeking a 2.4 percent charge of chip price for every patent. Even though this is not 2.4 percent of iPhone’s retail price, these royalties could quickly swell given the hundreds of millions of iOS devices sold to this date.
The Wall Street Journalestimated that would add “a 9.6 percent fee to what Apple now pays for the transceiver chips in the iPhone and in 3G iPads”. Based on 80 million iPhones and about ten million 3G iPads projected this year, this would result in a hundred million dollar royalty claim. Judge will consider these issues and rule whether Samsung’s cases will be allowed to continue on October 14 at 2pm.
UPDATE [Monday, September 26, 2011 at 5:27pm ET]: Note that J.P. Morgan appears to be backpedalling on the original report filed by their Asia team. PerBusiness Insider, “J.P. Morgan’s U.S. Apple analyst said ‘Apple is fine’, and the U.S. team does not agree with the Asian analyst team which made the report that Apple was cutting back its iPad orders”.
Apple has reportedly cut orders of iPad components for the holiday quarter by 25 percent, JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrote in a report. The move could mean a drop from the seventeen million iPads manufactured in the third quarter to thirteen million units ahead of the all important holiday shopping season. According toBloomberg:
Several supply-chain vendors indicated in the past two weeks that Apple, the world’s biggest company by market value, lowered fourth-quarter iPad orders 25 percent, the first such cut that analysts at J.P. Morgan’s electronic manufacturing services team in Hong Kong said they have ever seen. The report did not list the affected companies.
J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz maintains that Apple will ship between 10.9 million to twelve million iPads in the third and fourth quarters. If you remember, a similar thing happened early this year when Apple reduced orders of iPad 1 ahead of the iPad 2 introduction.
It is nevertheless too early to tell whether this rumored change signals Apple winding down iPad 2 manufacturing ahead of iPad 3. The most likely explanation is that Foxconn is reducing its iPad output in China as the Brazil plant goes online. The Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology, Aloizio Mercadante promised iPads made in Brazil by December.
However, with an Amazon tablet allegedly slated for introduction Wednesday, Apple may have tweaked its iPad 3 launch plans. It is also entirely possible that Apple modeled for a too optimistic fourth quarter demand and is now simply re-aligning production plans to reduce inventory (Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks inventory is “fundamentally evil”).
Mick Madden. It fell out of his pocket while riding a roller coaster.
The iFixYouri iPhone repair shop and 9to5Mac will be fixing your iPhone for free! For those who didn’t win this time around, we will be picking another winner next Friday! Here are the rules:
In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouri and a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to support@iFixYouri.com or like and share it on their Facebook page.
A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri iPhone repair and 9to5Mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent! (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)
You will also need to follow both iFixYouri and 9to5Mac on Twitter so we can DM you in case you win. Just a hint, send in high-quality pictures of your device.
Just like Apple did with the iCloud system backup service, Apple has announced that they will reset iTunes Match iCloud libraries on Monday, September 26th. The above image has just appeared in iTunes, noting the reset, and Apple has also begun emailing iTunes Match subscribers. Interestingly, Apple says in this email that it “has become necessary” to reset iTunes Match libraries in order to improve the service’s reliability and overall quality.
Apple says that the reset will occur at 9 AM PDT / 10 AM PST and says that all users of the iTunes Match service will need to turn off iTunes Match on both their Macs and iOS devices. Songs stored on your devices, but not directly on the cloud, will not be affected. Apple will be conducting this reset as part of their final preparations for an early to mid-October launch of iCloud and iOS 5. Final iCloud details will likely be announced at an October 4th iPhone 5 event. The e-mail to iTunes Match subscribers is after the break…
Google Plus (iTunes) iOS users will see a big update in their App Store today with lots of new features and improvements that were detailed earlier this week. Most notable is the ability to start and join video hangouts from a mobile device. In brief testing on both an iPhone 4 and an Android device on Wi-Fi, the Video conferencing worked great. It should work over 3 or 4G but the results obviously won’t be as good. Also, this version changes Huddles to Messenger and you can now send picture files through the messenger application.
If Google and Apple were to merge, their respective Android and iOS mobile software would seize well over three-quarters of the world’s platform share in smartphones, per latest Millennial Media’s “Mobile Mix” mobile device usage share report. Separately, Android and iOS held 54 percent and 28 percent share in August. Millennial now includes data from smartphones, tablets, e-readers and gaming devices so direct comparison to their smartphone-focused July study is meaningless.
Apple continued to be the leading device manufacturer on our network in August, representing 23% of the Top 15 Manufacturers impression share (Chart A). Apple iPhone maintained the number one position on the Top 20 Mobile Phones ranking with 13% of the impression share.
Nearly one-third of devices on all carriers used wireless hotspots. Verizon Wireless and Sprint had 18 and 14 percent carrier mix, respectively, followed by T-Mobile USA and AT&T with eight percent each. Games, music and entertainment remain the most popular app categories. iOS represented 41 percent of the app platform mix and Android 49 percent. On Android, News apps rose by 26 percent month-over-month. Go past the fold for a bunch of pretty charts and more explanation.
In spite of our best hopes, 9to5Macis hearing from multiple sources who have ties to Apple and its manufacturing partners that the company is facing continued design and production delays that might push the teardrop iPhone 5 out until 2012. Today, DIGITIMESweighs in on the issue with additional information which reinforces what we’ve been hearing, putting the blame on touch panel maker Wintek which reportedly supplies one-quarter of iPhone 5 touch panels. According to the publication:
A defect has presented in some iPhone 5 touch panels produced by Wintek which may affect the ability to meet initial shipment targets for the launch which is expected in October, according to iPhone supply chain makers. In response, Wintek simply indicated that all of its products are being delivered on schedule.
The publication goes on to describe the “delayed bubble” defect which the source warns is difficult to avoid if it isn’t detected early on during the process of laminating touch panels. Sources assure the publication that Wintek “is expected to remedy the defect quickly” given that iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 utilize the same touch panel manufacturing procedures.
The report contradicts this story, also from DIGITIMES, calling for 150,000 iPhone 5s being produced every day by Foxconn, waiting for iOS 5 to be finalized and preinstalled on the devices before shipping can commence. In the light of today’s rumor, however, it is possible that the iPhone 4S production has been in full swing rather than iPhone 5 and newest Otter Box cases would certainly reinforce this thinking.
Apple facing manufacturing difficulties isn’t unheard of. Remember white iPhone 4? It took the company eight months to figure out how to make it work so that light leakage doesn’t degrade camera performance. Also, Antennagate anyone? Let’s not forget that Apple’s products are “very difficult to make” and that’s from Terry Gou, the CEO of Apple’s long-time contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn. For all we know, Gou might have been referring to iPhone 5 when he made that comment back in June.
Adding some validity to the possibility of a new iPhone branded “4S”, @chronicwire has just posted the images below showing the iPhone 4S branding on what looks like legit packaging for a new Otter Box iPhone case.
Another couple if you head down south. Notice the changed volume buttons that may or may not be indicative of a volume button to camera shutter feature.
LEAK: Photo of the back of the package showing the iPhone 4S case, depicting new volume buttons, and on the right side. New soft-looking volume buttons being on right side of iPhone 4S can probably be attributed to the “volume button to take pic” iOS5 feature
She explained that the ad reflected the current conversations going on in the blogosphere. “Like many, we are watching the rumor sites and using information to plan ahead as much as we can.” Otterbox promises support for whatever iPhone debuts, but they’re emphatically not stating or leaking anything further. “We do not have any confidentiality agreements with Apple,” Richardson told TUAW.
As for those iPhone 4S Otterbox packaging photos that leaked yesterday, she explained, “What was circulating yesterday was not a case image for the iPhone 4S but a packaging design.” Otterbox has not identified the source of the photos. Expand Expanding Close
As iPad is killing it, Apple’s embattled iPhone is competing against the legions of Android handsets that have flooded the market. That shouldn’t come as a surprise: Carriers are promoting inexpensive Android devices left and right and they are literally everywhere. But how satisfied are Android and iPhone users with their handsets? According to a study of 515 smartphone owners conducted by UBS Research (viaGigaOM), iPhone is “sticky” like no other phone, with an average retention rate of 89 percent.
It is falling rapidly for other vendors, though, and the next nearest hardware is HTC with a retention rate of 39 percent and 28 percent for Samsung. Android phones in general are at 55 percent. Nokia and Research in Motion are sinking really fast. The former saw its retention rate drop from 42 percent in March 2010 to just 24 percent and the latter dropped from 62 percent to 33 percent.
The survey may not be terribly accurate due to a small sample size, but it helps understand market trends. People are obviously happy with their iPhones and a large portion of users will happily stay within the Apple ecosystem. UBS concludes:
Demand for iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro remains robust, with a leading ecosystem that creates sticky demand.
AT&T’s Randall Stephenson recently responded to the possibility of Sprint getting a next-gen iPhone during the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference. On top of describing the effects of new carriers adding the device to their lineup as “always overblown”, he went on to say “I’m very confident that we’ll do very well with” the new iPhone.
When talking about potential competition from Verizon and Sprint regarding the yet to be released iPhone 5, he had this to say: Expand Expanding Close
