Apple was today granted a patent for detecting touch-free gestures at close range, the patent language suggesting that the approach could build on the capabilities of multi-touch and 3D touch to respond to fingers hovering close to an iPhone or iPad display, as well as use on keyboards and trackpads.
The patent describes using sensors similar to the proximity detectors used to disable accidental touch input on the iPhone screen when you’re holding the phone to your face during a call. Unlike longer-range gesture technologies like Kinect, the system would detect ‘hover events’ just above the surface of the screen …
A few weeks ago we noticed that Google has started testing pre-release versions of Chrome through Apple’s TestFlight beta distribution service, and today the version in testing then has been released to everyone through the App Store. The latest version of Chrome for iOS takes advantage of Apple’s new pressure sensitive iPhone 6s displays and offers even more hardware keyboard shortcuts that will benefit iPad users. Expand Expanding Close
Apple has recently released a new lineup of Magic accessories for Mac, but are they worth the hype? Along with that, we get into some discussions on the new 21.5-inch 4K Retina iMac and how it compares to the 27-inch model. Big thanks to Jamf Now (formerly Bushel) for sponsoring this week’s episode. To find out what awesome cloud-based mobile device management can do for you, check out https://www.jamf.com/happyhour.
Alongside today’s expected new iMac updates, Apple has announced a trio of new input devices for desktops: the Magic Trackpad 2, Magic Mouse 2, and Magic Keyboard. The new keyboard and trackpad have an updated design to accommodate improved keys on the keyboard and Force Touch on the trackpad, while the mouse has been redesigned internally. All three devices work on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that juice up via a standard USB Lightning cable:
Samsung is already eying the iPhone 6s’s most significant new feature, 3D Touch, for its next-generation Galaxy phones. A report on Weibo suggests that the Korean company will be adding pressure-sensitive screens next year following Apple’s lead.
Samsung will apparently be using screen technology from Synaptic, called ClearForce, which we reported on last week. Although right now pressure-sensitive screens are effectively exclusive to iPhone, the availability of Synaptic hardware to OEMs is seemingly allowing Samsung (as well as other manufacturers, not yet disclosed) to jump on board in the near future.
Apple looks to be preparing updated versions of its keyboard, trackpad, and mouse accessories for near-term release. Code freshly discovered in the latest OS X 10.11.1 beta references next-generation versions of the products, as first spotted by Consomac. We’ve confirmed the references to new Apple peripherals are not present on the current OS X release, version 10.11.0, and first appear in OS X 10.11.1, currently in beta. Expand Expanding Close
Synaptics has today announced the ClearPad 3700 force-sensing touchscreen controller, which the company hopes will be packed inside many a 2016 flagship Android smartphone. This comes just about a month after Apple’s September 9th event, at which the Cupertino company announced the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, both packing “3D Touch” as a headline feature… Expand Expanding Close
Put the iPhone 6s next to its predecessor, and I’d challenge anyone to tell them apart. You start to notice the difference as soon as you put your thumb on the Touch ID sensor. Apple says that the new sensor is faster, and I was surprised to find that the difference – while small – is definitely noticeable. I had to use both a number of times to persuade myself that it wasn’t just a placebo effect, but I did end up convinced.
I’m going to play with the camera this evening when I have something a bit more interesting to photograph than my office and a view through the window of a very ordinary street, so mostly what I’ve been playing with today is the new Peek and Pop features using 3D Touch.
Our exclusive report that the Force Touch feature in the new iPhones will be a more advanced form of the technology than used in the Apple Watch has been supported by what may be the patent behind it.
Prompted by our report, Patently Apple revisited a patent published in Europe in July and found references which point to the ability to measure three levels of force. While the technology used in the Apple Watch can measure varying levels of pressure (as can be seen in the animation if you slowly increase pressure, for example on the notifications screen), the measurement is translated into just two levels: a touch or a press. 3D Force Touch adds a third level of sensitivity … Expand Expanding Close
One of the cornerstone features of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, to be announced next Wednesday, is a screen based on the Force Touch technology from the latest MacBook trackpads and the Apple Watch. However, as we noted in previous articles such as our event expectations roundup from yesterday, the Force Touch feature in the new iPhones will actually be a next-generation version of the technology. According to sources familiar with the new iPhones, the new pressure-sensitive screen will likely be called the “3D Touch Display”…
Mitsuru Homma, CEO of Japan Display has suggested that Apple is planning for a big launch of the next iPhone. Speaking to Reuters today, the executive said that the display panel manufacturer’s “biggest client” keeps asking for more units ahead of next week’s September 9th event.
The move doesn’t come as a big surprise—Apple does want to have enough units to sell when the phone launches next month—but interestingly, Homma notes that despite many companies seeing declines in smartphone sales in many large markets, Apple seems totally unfazed.
Homma also possibly hinted at the presence of Force Touch in the new displays, commenting that there was “difficult technology” involved in creating them.
A report from the usually-reliable KGI has repeated many of the details from our exclusives on the iPhone 6S, but additionally offered support for an earlier rumor that the front camera will be upgraded to 5MP. Surprisingly, it also suggests that the rear camera lens may not be sapphire, as it has apparently failed drop tests.
Aside from upgrading rear camera module to 12MP, Apple will upgrade front camera module to 5MP […] The new iPhone may not be equipped with sapphire cover lens, as it still has quality issues on the drop test.
Although sapphire is much more scratch-resistant than Gorilla Glass, it is more brittle, and thus at greater risk of shattering when dropped.
The company also repeated its concerns that limited appeal of the new features, together with external economic factors, is likely to result in flat or negative sales growth … Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s September 9th event is set to be one of the company’s largest events in history, as is reflected by the expansive size of its San Francisco venue. Besides a pair of new iPhones, the substantially revamped Apple TV set top box, and new bands for the Apple Watch, Apple is currently planning to debut a pair of new iPads at next week’s event: the long-rumored iPad Pro, and a refreshed version of the iPad mini, according to trusted sources…
Earlier this year, reports began to suggest that Apple would launch the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in an additional color beyond the Space Gray, Silver, and Gold options that have been available in the popular iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. Since then, there have been conflicting rumors regarding Apple’s color choice: some (including the Wall Street Journal) have claimed that the new iPhones would come in “pink,” while some analysts have referred to the color as “Rose Gold” (the discrepancy could be attributed to the similarity between colors). Today, our sources have confirmed that the new iPhones will actually come in a color that is unmistakably Rose Gold in both appearance and name…
New images have surfaced today giving us a closer look at the alleged next-generation iPhone display panel first revealed in earlier leaks (via MacRumors). The images don’t reveal any new information, but do give us a closer look at the part that appears to include new components thought to be related to the addition of Apple’s Force Touch display technology. Expand Expanding Close
As we approach the iPhone event, with invites very likely to go out to press shortly, we have more iPhone 6S rumors to discuss. Firstly, Hamza Sood has once again peeked into the iOS 9 source code and found references to ‘deep press’ gestures. This seems to confirm the existence of Force Touch in the new iPhones, which at this point is no surprise. Force Touch is widely assumed to be coming to all of the new iPhones and iPads Apple will announce this year. 9to5Mac reported that Force Touch will be used for various things across the OS: Sood found the Force Touch code reference in text selection code and appears to mean that a Force Touch gesture will activate the keyboard trackpad scrolling … a new feature for iPads in iOS 9.
A packaging photo has also leaked, although the validity is highly questionable. It appears to show packaging for the iPhone 6S Plus …
Apple plans to hold one of its annual fall media events on Wednesday, September 9th to introduce the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus with Force Touch, and after many fits and starts, it appears that the long-awaited next-generation Apple TV will also be unveiled. We’ve been reporting on this upcoming model since 2014, as Apple has been planning to update its set-top-box with support for an App Store for quite some time.
Earlier this year, Apple had locked in a June WWDC debut for both the new Apple TV hardware and software upgrades, but the company ultimately decided to delay the introduction until the fall. While some had speculated that the announcement was pushed back due to a lack of content deals, we are told that the delay was internally attributed to a concern over compromising iOS 9 engineering resources, as the latest OS release is focused at least as much on polish as on new features.
Why would the new Apple TV potentially take away resources from iOS 9? According to sources, this new Apple TV model, codenamed J34, will be the first model to run a full-blown iOS core. Specifically, the new Apple TV operating system will be a TV-optimized version of iOS 9. In addition to the new hardware inside, running iOS 9 will give the new Apple TV a series of benefits over the current model. Below, we explore what users can expect from Apple’s next-generation living room product.
It appears plans for future Apple wireless accessories have (again) been spoiled by the FCC. According to a pair of filings that hit the organization’s website yesterday, Apple is preparing to soon debut new versions of its Bluetooth Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard. According to images indicating the FCC label location on the accessories, the new mouse will be called the “Magic Mouse 2.” As for the new wireless keyboard, there are no indications of a name change as of yet.
Every time Apple is expected to release an S-series iPhone — the 3GS, the 4S, the 5s, and now the 6S — pundits rush to discount the value of each anticipated new feature, claiming that it won’t be enough to boost iPhone sales. Yet historically, every prediction of iPhone sales peaks or declines has been wrong: each iPhone, whether a big “tick” or small “tock” on Apple’s upgrade schedule, has outsold its predecessors. Even without form factor or screen changes, speed sold the iPhone 3GS, Siri boosted the 4S, and Touch ID and camera improvements helped the 5s. (In S years, improved distribution, new color options, and price and capacity tweaks have made a big difference, too.)
This week, analysts and pundits have co-opted my colleague Mark Gurman’s scoop that Force Touch on the iPhone 6S will be used for shortcuts across iOS, suggesting that Force Touch isn’t going to be exciting enough to make people upgrade. That’s true, but also so obvious as to be ridiculous: Apple certainly won’t pitch a pressure-sensitive screen as the iPhone 6S’s marquee new feature. Force Touch debuted in the Apple Watch, but it’s not even mentioned on the first Apple Watch page on Apple.com, instead showing up in the fifth paragraph of the “Technology” page. It’s similarly found only paragraphs down on the page of the 12″ MacBook where it made its Mac debut.
With the notable exception of the iPad mini 3, Apple never releases new devices with only one new feature to hook customers. Even a month before it’s announced, it’s a virtual certainty that the iPhone 6S will arrive with camera improvements and faster processors, most likely a new color option, and Force Touch as one of many small but nice additions. So long as Apple gets distribution and international pricing right, the iPhone 6S is going to do just fine…
KGI – which has an excellent track record – has predicted a strong possibility of either zero or negative growth of iPhone sales in Q4 2015. The investment note cited by Taiwanese site Apple Daily (via GforGames) forecasts that Apple will sell between 65M and 75M iPhones, compared to 74.5M in the same quarter last year.
We predict iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S could be the first S-series models to see flat or lower shipments versus their predecessors.
KGI bases its pessimistic prediction on two factors. First, the weak state of the Chinese economy. Second, the very same argument I made in my opinion piece yesterday: that the headline feature of the iPhone 6S, Force Touch, doesn’t seem likely to wow customers … Expand Expanding Close
While Force Touch on the Apple Watch allowed Apple to add an additional layer of buttons to a small display, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus screens don’t lack for either real estate or buttons. So why would Force Touch be desirable on larger displays? Following up on our May report that Force Touch is coming to Apple’s next iPhones, sources who have used the iPhone 6S have provided new details on how Force Touch works and feels under iOS.
