iOS Devices

Here’s Mark Gurman’s post from way back last year.  Interesting that iPad 2x icons were already appearing in the documentation…

On Apple’s online developer user-interface documents a section discusses iPad universal applications. This is a universal application for two versions of the iPad. The current version and an alluded to higher resolution version, an iPad with a retina display.

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Best Buy has added three new iPad SKUs to their online store database and we have no firm conclusion as to what this means. Two of the SKUs list a $599 price point while the third is listed for $699. Could Best Buy begin carrying the Verizon iPad + MiFi bundle? Are these the three models of the upcoming CDMA Verizon iPad? Are these iPad 2s? Probably not, but discuss in the comments!

Update: These three new iPad SKUs are showing up in Best Buy’s internal store database, as well, as “unreleased products.”

Update 2: Best Buy has removed the three iPad listings from their website and internal database.

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Discovered deep inside the first beta SDK for iOS 4.3 is a driver for Imagination Technologies’ POWERVR SGX543 GPU. Starting with the iPhone 3GS, Apple’s iOS devices have leveraged the POWERVR SGX535 graphics processor. MacRumors summarizes the benefits of the SGX543 over the SGX535:

The SGX543 is said to deliver performance of 35 million polygons per second and a filtrate of 1 billion pixels per second when running at 200 MHz, compared to 28 million polygons per second and a filtrate of 500 million pixels for the SGX535 running at the same clock speed. In addition, the SGX543 offers support for the Apple-backed OpenCL specification that allows applications to harness untapped potential of both CPUs and GPUs for processing purposes. Finally, the SGX543 support multi-core configurations allowing for even greater performance.

This new chip will most likely work in conjunction with Apple’s upcoming A5 system-on-a-chip for iOS devices.

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Engadget claims they have just outed what we will be seeing next from Apple’s iOS device lineup. First, the next iPad. Supposedly the new iPad is on track for an April launch (not the very early 2011 launch that “insiders” claimed) and will include dual cameras (no surprise), a “super high-resolution” display, a dedicated SD card slot (that’s not a speaker), and a dual GSM/CDMA chip made by Qualcomm.

Next, the iPhone 5. Engadget claims the next-generation iPhone will be a “completely re-designed handset,” which is surprising seeing that Apple made some fairly-major design changes with the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 will supposedly feature Apple’s new CPU, A5. The dual GSM/CDMA cellular/data chip from Qualcomm will reportedly also make it’s way to the iPhone 5. The report also notes that LTE-compatiblity won’t make the cut for Apple’s 2011 iOS device lineup.

Engadget also throws in one more hobby… Apple is reportedly already at work on the successor to the recently-redesigned Apple TV. The new Apple TV is said to include the speedy A5 chip from the iPhone 5 and that the chip is powerful enough to bring 1080P video to Apple’s set-top-box. The report says “the CPU is said to be blazingly fast, cranking out 1080p video ‘like running water.'” Also, Engadget has a pretty solid track record with their Apple scoops.

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COMPUTERWORLD: Blink and you may have missed it (only joking, the yards of coverage gave it away) but Apple has begun beta-testing a feature-packed iPhone/iPad software update, iOS 4.3. With iOS features set to prowl over to Mac OS X Lion, what do these new mobile features suggest may be coming to the Mac?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBvfa4JX3Tw&w=670&h=401]

Introducing HackCenter. Available soon on the Cydia store. This hack allows you to send any score that you want to Game Center, and it works with every game. In this example, the developer shows how you can use HackCenter to submit a fake score for Fruit Ninja.

Even as it prerpares for an imminent introduction of the iPad 2.0, Apple has begun sourcing components for iPhone 5, choosing Qualcomm for the baseband chip and a faster ARM chip for the processor.

Kinsus Interconnect Technology seems set to enter Apple’s supply chain for iPhone 5, as the new smartphone will adopt Qualcomm’s baseband chipsets, which use Kinsus IC substrates, according to a Chinese language Apple Daily report.
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The rush to build tablet devices to compete with Apple’s iPad is posing unexpected strain on component suppliers, a report explains, challenging those in the value chain to focus production away from existing products to meet expectations of non-iPad tablet sales which insider sources report may turn out to be “unrealistic”.

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We’ve been telling you all about this camera that’s coming in the iPad 2 and thought you might like to see some screenshots.  Our tipster Sonny D. sent us these screenshots that he assembled from files within the SDK of the iPad camera.app.

These screenshots are 1024 x 768 which indicate the same screen resolution as the current iPad.  That might upset those hoping for more a retina-ish display in iPad 2. This may only be because the current simulator only simulates 1024 x 768 so those hoping for more pixels shouldn’t lose hope.

Three more screenshots are after the break.

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Yesterday BGR reported that Apple would be bringing their popular Photo Booth Mac app to iOS devices, and today we have discovered confirmation of this claim. The discovery comes in two new iOS 4.3 frameworks: “PhotoBooth” and “PhotoBoothEffects.” There aren’t actually any images of the Photo Booth user interface but some hints at the functionality are present.

Photo Booth for iOS looks like it will be a simple application. You will get to pick from a list of effects and switch between the front and back cameras. Unfortunately, the supported devices aren’t listed but we imagine it will work on the iPhone 4, 4th generation iPod touch, and the next iPad with two cameras. The proof from the SDK is after the break.

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News Corp.’s The Daily iPad newspaper is rumored to be dropping on January 19th and today Poynter has discovered what the newspaper application will actually look like on an iPad. The image above was found in some of the website’s source files along with some code hinting at multi-media and social networking options.

In the “Footer” section, along with Twitter and Facebook, are links to icons for both Vimeo and YouTube.

A Javascript file included in the homepage indicates the presence of an embedded video player. But it is not clear how, or if, the publication is planning to distribute its content on video sharing sites. The app has been rumored to include significant photo and multimedia content, so it is possible some of that material could be shared more widely on the open Web.

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COMPUTERWORLD: Rupert Murdoch’s iPad newspaper The Daily launches next week while some claim iPad publishing isn’t the gold rush they’d expected – some big name titles are failing to achieve numbers much beyond newstand sales! How refreshing then to look at this iPad publishing success story: an independently-produced title, called TRVL.

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As expected, Apple intends making a version of its CDMA iPhone available for sale in Japan, South Korea, China, India and other countries, leaks from within its supply chain have confirmed. Apple also expects to sell several million of these new devices in the first quarter 2011.

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Yet another feature hidden within iOS 4.3 seemingly hidden within the plethora of reports on the future update yesterday comes the ‘Find My Friends’ tag, a new facility which suggests the ability to find iOS-using friends kept within your MobileMe address book.
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Spotify and Shazam have teamed-up to offer a combined service for the iPhone and other mobile devices, with new apps which allow Shazam users to access Spotify directly using a new ‘Play in Spotify’ feature.
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It all started with the news of the four finger swipe today in iOS 4.3 for iPad which replicates the functionality of the home button.  Soon, BGR coincidentally got a tip that the home button was going missing from future iPads and iPhones running around Cupertino.

We have exclusively been told that the reason Apple just added multitouch gestures for the iPad in the latest iOS 4.3 beta is because the iPad will be losing the home button. Yes, we are told that Apple, at some point in time, will remove the home button from the iPad’s design. Instead of button taps, you will use new multitouch gestures to navigate to the home screen and also to launch the app switcher.

Other things to consider:

1. How do you do a hard reset without a home button?
2. And what about people without all of their fingers?
3. The physical home button is still functioning when the touch panel interface crashes.  Soft buttons and gestures crash here too.
4. There are too many reasons to need a home button for us to believe this.  Maybe the home button moves to the bottom?

What do you think?

Update: Here’s a few better ones.

We found four interesting files in the latest SDK and they all amount to the next-generation iPad having a camera. You will notice the same shutter screen as found on the iPhone and iPod touch in addition to camera roll icons for videos and pictures. We opened up the camera shutter images and the size is 1024 x 768, which is the same resolution as the current iPad. No higher-resolution screen on iPad 2? Apple needs to pop in new graphics? Discuss!

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http://www.viddler.com/simple/47719c34/

We covered many of the new features in iOS 4.3 today and above is a video walkthrough. Here’s everything we’ve covered on iOS 4.3 so far:

–Here’s iPad 2’s camera app from the iOS 4.3 SDK.

–iOS 4.3 bringing Photo Booth to iOS devices

–iOS 4.3 supports more powerful graphics processors.

–iOS 4.3 to bring ‘Find my Friends’ feature?

–iOS 4.3 gestures to help iPads and iPhones lose their physical home buttons?

–iOS 4.3 beta 1 for iOS mobile devices and Apple TV seeded to developers.

–iOS 4.3 brings new Multi-Touch gestures to the iPad.

–iOS 4.3 will not support the iPhone 3G or iPod touch 2G.

–GSM iPhones will get the Personal Hotspot feature with iOS 4.3 (AT&T is a go).

–FaceTime gets a new icon and iAds can now display in full-screen.

–iOS 4.3 brings the physical screen lock switch back to iPad (is an option).

–iOS 4.3 may bring fun video effects to the iPhone/iPod touch camera app.

–iOS 4.3 brings new Messages alert settings and a new font in notes.

Let us know if you find anything else!

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Additional new features of iOS 4.3 keep rolling in. Noteworthy is a new font in the iPad Notes.  Also, you now have the option to play alerts from one to 10 times (below).

Other little tidbits of interest:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG1iM43w2o8&w=480&h=385]

iSpazio found a new file in the updated SDK that hints at some iPod nano 5th gen-esque camera effects. The effects that are possibly en route to an iPhone near you:

• Thermal Camera
• X-ray
• Kaleidoscope
• Normal
• Tunnel of Light
• Collapse
• Turbine
• Enlarge

You asked, Apple listened. A new setting lets you choose for the switch to be an orientation lock or the new mute switch. (via App Advice) (Photo: MacStories)

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