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.
As we inch closer to the late 2011 iPhone 5 introduction, more parts purported to belong to a fifth-generation iPhone find their way onto the web at large. MacPosthas discovered (viaMacRumors) several components claimed to represent iPhone 5 parts, including the headphone jacks (above), camera lens and proximity sensor flex cable which is pictured in the above below. Note that these are actually iPhone 5 replacements, not the actual parts used in manufacturing of the handset.
They were floated by Chinese resellers and as such may or may note indicate the internal design and features of the handset. It could be also Asian resellers looking for some free press. “They’re superficially similar but are subtly different to the iPhone 4”, notes the publication. The most interesting takeaway is that the headphone jack replacements come in both black and white, suggesting Apple will offer iPhone 5 in two colors, just like its predecessor.
Steve Jobs at iPad 2 introduction in March 2011 rhetorically asked if 2011 “will be year of the copycats”, highlighting several times the iPad’s attractive selling price as a big advantages.
The billions in profits from iOS gadgets that Apple strategically invests to pre-pay long-term component deals is a crucial enabling factor that has been allowing the company to over time bring down the prices and make its gear more and more affordable to the growing number of consumers. Nowhere is this more evident than with iPad, which debuted with a “breakthrough” price of five hundred bucks, originally pricing the vast majority of competing tablets out of the market.
Despite a recent Strategy Analytics survey asserting Android’s share of the tablet market in June 2011 at 30 percent, in reality those numbers are inflated as all competing devices (which, by the way, include borderline devices such as e-readers and de-featured tablets) struggle to make it past store shelves. It’s the difference between shipping and actually selling something: iPad gets picked by millions of consumers each quarter whereas Apple’s rivals settle with channel shipments. Realizing their products are collecting dust on store shelves, tablet makers are scrambling to slash prices once again in a last-minute effort to “digest inventory overstock”, reportsDigiTimes, an Asian trade publication:
Non-Apple tablet PC players, facing the fact their devices are having weaker sales than their order volumes, while demand from the retail channel has been quickly shrinking, are expected to start cutting their tablet prices by the end of September to digest inventory and minimize losses, and the decisions are expected to trigger a new price war within the tablet industry, according to sources from notebook players.
The latest price cuts will arrive on top of the already slashed prices forcing Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Asustek and Acer to offer their products from as low as $370. The sources talk about “at least two waves of price cuts from the end of September to the year-end holiday”, possibly reducing the average price of non-Apple tablets further to $300. It should come as a surprise that underpricing iPad is no guarantee of success because technology alone (and price) “is not enough”, as Apple boasts in its cool iPad commercials (you need apps, too!). Apple could also pull the iPhone 4-3GS trick with the iPad, selling iPad 2 at a reduced price of, say, $350, as the $499 iPad 3 debuts. One thing’s for sure: 2011 won’t be the year of copycats. So, who’s not selling their warez?
Backing up a TiPB report from last week, Digitimes reports that Apple’s plans for a Retina Display iPad launch this fall have been terminated; if they even existed in the first place. According to the report’s sources, Apple’s initial plan was to produce 1.5-2 million units in the third quarter and 5-6 million in the fourth quarter of a new iPad, but these orders have apparently been cancelled.
The report also believes that plans for the new product’s launch were cancelled due to yield rate issues in the production of the 2048 x 1536 Retina Display. Apple will likely stick to their annual release cycle and release a Retina Display iPad during spring 2012. As you can see in the image after the break, Apple is definitely experimenting with iPad software that meets the higher resolution.
The FTC filed a lawsuit against W3 Innovations Friday, the parent company of Broken Thumbs Apps, for collecting the personal information of children in their apps. Broken Thumbs Apps have been downloaded more than 50,000 times in the iTunes App Store, and titles include Zombie Duck Hunt, Truth or Dare, and Emily’s Dress Up. Monday, the company settled with the FTC for $50,000.
The FTC’s complaint includes W3 storing more than 30,000 children’s (probably parent’s) emails and personal information on their servers. In one game, the company asked for the child’s name. In the game Emily’s Girl World, it gave children the opportunities to make comments on a related blog, which were stored on a server.
The FTC says since these apps were directly marketed to children and transmitted information over the internet, the apps are in violation of the Children’s Online privacy Protection Pact (COPPA), and the FTC’s COPPA rules. Besides settling, the company agreed to delete all of the children’s personal information off of their servers. (via Ars Technica)
Amazon today released a new iPhone app for college students called Amazon Student. This one’s not about renting Kindle textbooks, there’s already an app for that. What Amazon Student does is it lets you trade used textbooks from the palm of your hand. Just scan barcodes of as many books as you like and the Amazon cloud will calculate trade-in offers for you. This also works for games, movies and electronics (including iOS gadgets). You can also put scanned items into your trade-in list to buy later.
Payments go to your Gift Card and Amazon will even mail a pre-paid shipping label to your address on file. Sweetening the deal, the online retail giant is offering free two-day shipping for six months to those who join the Amazon Student program (Amazon Prime shipping benefits included). Beats the craze of having to put your unwanted textbooks on offer at the end of each semester and deal with all sorts of weirdos and trade-in combinations. Amazon Student is a free download from the App Store. More screenies after the break.
Siri’s iPhone app promotional video: how iOS Assistant will likely function
While we were able to exclusively report on substantial evidence that Apple is planning a system-wide voice navigation system called “Assistant” in iOS 5, there has been some debate over what will actually be powering the system. We reported that this Assistant feature will be powered by Siri’s technology, but that was based on similarities to the Siri technology and based on Apple’s purchase of the company last year. However, there is also the Nuance factor.
While Nuance powers the voice-recognition aspect of Siri’s iPhone application, the company recently released an application very similar to Siri, allowing some to figure that Apple’s iOS 5 Assistant could be completely based on Nuance technology. After all, Apple and Nuance are confirmed to be working together in at least one product. According to confirmation from the iOS SDK (shown above), Apple and Nuance’s partnership for iOS 5 will likely be capped at speech-to-text and the voice recognition backend for Assistant. Siri’s artificial intelligence and technology will be the driving force behind the feature. We also think that we have an idea of what Assistant will actually do once it is fully integrated into iOS…
According to Digitimes, Apple has increased their second-half of 2011 iPhone orders to 56 million units from a previous goal of 50 million units. These 56 million iPhones cover current and next-generation models: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM + CDMA), and the upcoming “iPhone 5.” As previously reported, the iPhone 5 will make up almost half of Apple’s 2H11 iPhones with 25.5-26 million total units.
In addition, Apple reportedly originally planned to build 7 million iPhone 5 units for the third quarter, but adjusted their production plans to 5.5-6 million units. On the other hand, Apple is expecting major iPhone 5 demand in the fourth quarter and has increased Q4 iPhone 5 orders to 20 million units from 14 million units.
The iPhone 5 will go on sale this fall and will almost certainly include the dual-core A5 processor found in the iPad 2 and an eight megapixel camera possibly made by Sony. There has been debate over the new iPhone’s design, with some reporting a design that is largely similar to the iPhone 4, and others calling for a major redesign. As the iPhone 5 moves into Apple’s product lineup (in addition to a possible cheaper iPhone), Apple will be eliminating the iPhone 3GS.
Our German is more than a little rusty (and so is Google’s) but it appears that five devices that are suspected of being either iPhone 5s or knockoffs were confiscated at the Munster-Osnabruck airport on July 21st.
It still isn’t certain if they were real or fake but it is newsworthy that Germans are confiscating iPhones, real or fake, at the Airports since there are so many fake iPhones coming out of China, India and Sears these days. Maybe they were just Samsung Galaxies?
The men in possession of the devices were coming from Turkey.
It appears that the customs officials are working with Apple to determine the origin of the devices.
Update: Reader Till translated the important bits, below:
All the fanboys are currently waiting for the iPhone 5, which is expected to launch in fall. But there is – as always – a lot of mystery about it. So it’s even more spectacular that there might was an iPhone 5 between six Apple smartphones that were confiscated at the airport of Münster-Osnabrück. “It’s possible that one of the devices in an iPhone 5”, the customs spokeswoman confirms.All of it happened on July 21st, when two men that came back from Turkey were controlled. As benm.at claims, this was done because there was a knife in a bag seen thanks to the radiograph.
The customs officers weren’t sure if the smartphones were a rip-off, but a comparison with the so-called “E-Agent” made it seem possible. Of course, the appearance of an iPhone 5 was more spectacular. “We can neither confirm nor deny if it is a real device and consequently industry spying”.
Apple was informed about the found. “We are waiting for a response of the manufacturer that tells us what to do.” Photos of the found won’t be published until then. “It could be industry spying, so you have to handle such picture with special sensibility”, said the spokeswoman.
According to several sources, and as has been widely expected, Apple will once again be holding its annual autumn special event, closer to mid-September this time. Apple (AAPL), which has had a fall hello-there confab every year since 2005, waited until August 31 last year to announce its “Let’s Rock” event on September 9 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.
The event turned out to be on September 1st. – 9 days earlier, rather than later, than the previous year’s September 9th launch.
With that in mind, AllThingsD‘s Kara Swisher lashed out at bloggers belligerently this evening (right) saying the iPhone 5 event would be held in “Oc … to … ber”, not September as had been forecasted and then shot down earlier today.
She didn’t take kindly to attempts at clarification. She cited a previous AllThingsD report which said the iPhone 5 would launch in October.
For the record, we do believe that the iPhone 5 will launch in October.
At this point, it is a good to keep in mind that Apple’s release schedules are fairly fluid and any forecasting is dangerous because of unforeseen setbacks that can delay launches.
As Apple’s fall launch time frame for iCloud approaches, Apple has released new builds of iCloud for Mac and OS X 10.7.2 to developers. The new iCloud for Mac build is beta 7 while the new OS X build is version 11C37. iCloud for Mac allows users to easily make their Mac iCloud compatible, and it includes the updated Back to my Mac service, Documents and Data in the Cloud, and Find my Mac. Both downloads are available to developers through the iCloud developer portal. Expand Expanding Close
According to TiPb, the next version of the iPhone will go on sale in the United States on Friday, October 7th. The report is leaning towards this upgrade being a “4S” type of upgrade, with a faster chip and better cameras, but it’s very possible that this iPhone 4S is the cheaper phone. Apple is likely working on two new iPhones for a fall launch, so it’s very possible that we will see an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5. TiPb also says that although a Retina Display iPad has been heavily rumored for a fall debut, consumers won’t see such product until Spring 2012.
Nimbuzzpoints us to a Orange France job description which seems to indicate that an intern will be studying the impacts of an iPhone 5 on consumers’ use of mobile internet devices.
It’s also interesting that Voice Over IP/IM is such a strong importance on this device
* Comparison uses VoIP / IM on all the solutions available on the market: Skype, MSN, Gtalk, yahoo, but also, Fring, Nimbuzz, Viber, Tango.
Fluent English is a requirement so if you are reading this now and in Paris, you know where to go.
Digitimes previously reported that manufacturers have already begun preparing for production of the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, which would be unveiled in September and reach customers as early as October. Now, adding more weight to these claims, Macotakara is reporting that an iPhone 4S variant along with a new iPad will arrive in the same timeframe.
According to the rough translation, it appears sources have provided information on a possible iPhone 4S based on the current CDMA iPhone 4. The report doesn’t rule out an iPhone 5 saying it “can not be confirmed”. It also briefly suggests a new iPad will be released in October as well. Could it be possible Apple is planning on releasing an iPhone 4S as the rumored entry-level model in addition to an iPhone 5?
Of course the mention of a new iPad is less than likely. Apple appears to be quite a long way from releasing a refreshed model, especially if you are counting on them including those new 28-nanometer, TSMC-built A6 chips that just started trials. Expand Expanding Close
Denise Chase. The iFixYouri iPhone repair shop and 9to5Mac will be fixing your iPad 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 #HelpiFixYouriand 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.
Kodawarisan claims that Apple’s annual fall event will be held on Wednesday, September 7th (8th in Japanese time zone -via MacRumors). Apple will likely use this event (whenever it falls) to detail the final versions of iCloud and iOS 5, in addition to announce the next-generation iPhone (or iPhones) and iPods.
Will Nintendo begin to produce titles for iOS devices? It’s a possibility if they take the advice of Tokyo-based Stats Investment Management Co, “Nintendo should try to either buy its way into this platform (smartphones) or develop something totally new.”
“The rift highlights the dilemma President Satoru Iwata faces as consumers shun Nintendo devices to play games on iPhones, iPads and Facebook Inc.’s website. The flop of the 3DS debut prompted the company to cut prices 40 percent in Japan and 32 percent in the U.S., the first time the games developer has resorted to such a move within six months of a product’s debut.”
Historically Nintendo has made their stance clear on developing for platforms other than their own. President Satoru Iwata even went as far as saying the company would never develop for other platforms as long as he’s in charge. While their new 3DS handheld hasn’t received a great reception, investments Nintendo has made recently in the 3DS (competitor to Sony’s Vita) portable device and Wii U makes it unlikely they will divert their attention to developing games for Apple devices anytime soon. This is especially true when talking about hallmark franchises like Mario and Donkey Kong. To provide these titles to iOS users would kill any incentive the company has to offer potential 3DS and Wii U customers.
That being said, the market opportunity is huge (just look how well Nintendo emulators do on jailbroken devices). If the game-maker continues to lay eggs with its portable products, it might be forced to join up with Apple, or build a 3DS Android phone like Sony did with its Xperia Play.
There are a lot of people who think Apple is going to eventually move its “Mac” line to iOS. In fact we found it curious when Apple turned ‘MacOSX’ to ‘OSX’ as of Lion earlier this year.
Steve Jobs and Apple in general are very sensitive to CPU power issues with their push to make high end devices thinner.
As part of the WSJ article on Intel spending $300 million on developing MacBook Air alternatives (a hint in itself – why does Intel need to create competition for its own Air), it was revealed that Apple was threatening to leave Intel’s ‘low power’ processors if they didn’t drastically cut power.
Welch said Apple informed Intel that it better drastically slash its power consumption or would likely lose Apple’s business. “It was a real wake-up call to us,” he said.
What are the alternative processors for the MacBook Air? AMD? Not likely (though not impossible).
The big alternative is a platform switch to ARM which certainly schools the Atom Chip in terms of power consumption. It would also mess with a lot of non-App Store Apps built on legacy code.
But, you know Apple would love to create a cheaper, thinner, more power efficient iAir type of hybrid device that still operated like a laptop. In fact, Lion seems to already be heading in that direction.
Gartner’s latest global smartphone numbers are out and if your name isn’t iOS or Android, the future looks pretty bleak. While iOS continues to gain share at pace even without a new model release (up one point for the quarter and over 4 points year over year), the bigger story continues to be Android’s outright theft of marketshare from Symbian. Just in the last quarter, 10 percent of the market shifted from Symbian to Android and for the year, the number is close to 20%
Meanwhile Blackberry continued its paced slide down another 2 points quarter over quarter while Samsung’s Bada made modest gains. In the “Other” category, Windows Phone 7 somehow lost market share falling from 2% to 1% and Windows Mobile is now off the charts. HP’s webOS is somewhere in the “other” as well with Meego and the ghosts of smartphone past.
What we thought was a static file in iOS that correctly predicted the previous Saturday iOS 5 Beta 5 update turns out to be one that Apple can change remotely. Yesterday, it changed from Wednesday August 17th to Thursday, August 18th. We can only assume that Apple can change this on a whim so the date appears to be a target date, which we know can change. As of this writing, the target is in a week. We’ll keep you updated. (Thanks to iCloudil.com for notifying us of the change) Expand Expanding Close
According to Reuters, this is a high risk strategy for Apple maintaining its market share lead. The cases could take months, if not years to come to court and Apple will have to provide more substantial evidence in subsequent court cases that the design of the Galaxy infringed its patents or copied their designs in order to make any bans permanent. So, they aren’t done deals. And if Apple Loses, it will owe Samsung a lot of money.
If Apple loses it will be liable for the business lost by Samsung in the meantime.
“Apple has a strategy of filing patents, getting some protection and trying to prevent other people from entering the market in the short-term,” said Nathan Mattock, an intellectual property lawyer at Marque Lawyers in Sydney. “If Apple’s wrong it will have to pay Samsung a considerable amount of damages, so it’s potentially quite risky.”
The final dimensions of the new design are calculated to be: 4.33″ x 2.36″ and .27″ thickness at the top and .21″ at the bottom In comparison, the iPhone 4 dimensions are: 4.5″ x 2.31″ x .37″. So the new design is actually shorter than the existing iPhone 4, but slightly wider and thinner.
As reported by TechCrunch, Amazon has released a new Kindle Cloud Reader service. The service allows users of both Macs and PCs running either Safari or Google Chrome to read their Kindle books online. Better yet, the service works on iPad’s Mobile Safari. A feature that owners of WiFi-only iPads will enjoy is page caching for offline reading.
Notably, this is a great solution for Amazon to work around Apple’s in-app-purchase requirements for applications that offer purchases. In fact, what better way to spur Web innovation than to force people out of the store? Good job Apple!
Facebook isn’t fantastic at hiding secret stuff in their Apps. Just last month, its iPad ambitions were outed by some folks rummaging around in the App. Today, Facebook released their Messenger app and seconds later, we see that there is a video component to the application:
The video component would seem to work on both Android (yep) and iPhone and would likely tie in with their recently announced Skype desktop video conferencing service as well. The code looks very rudimentary at this point so it isn’t certain that the video can be enabled like the iPad version was with just a few tweeks. Thanks Caleb!
Meanwhile Blackberry continued its paced slide down another 2 points quarter over quarter while Samsung’s Bada made modest gains. In the “Other” category, Windows Phone 7 somehow lost market share falling from 2% to 1% and Windows Mobile is now off the charts. HP’s webOS is somewhere in the “other” as well with Meego and the ghosts of smartphone past.
