Apple Announces New iPad Air and A Host Of New Updates

Well, that was a busy conference wasn't it? An hour and a half of nothing but updates to Apple's non-iPhone ranges. We've got a lot to cover, so let's get going:

iPad Air:

Firstly, updates to the iPad range. The new iPad air is the first major redesign of the iPad since the iPad 2:

The iPad Air is thinner, lighter and more powerful than any previous model. At just over 7mm thick it's only marginally thicker than the iPad mini, but the big statistic is the weight; less than 1lb. That's right, less than 1lb.

Internally, it features an A7X chip, the M7 motion processor seen on the iPhone 5S and a 9.7inch retina display. Capacity wise, nothing has changed, it's available in 16, 32 and 64gb flavours. 

The prices for the iPad Air remain the same as the previous iPad, starting at £399 for the 16gb Wifi model.

The iPad Mini is now available with a retina display too. The iPad Mini Retina will cost £319 for the 16gb Wifi model whereas the original iPad Mini gets a price cut to £249.

Both the iPad Air and the iPad Mini Retina will be available from 1st of November.

MacBook Pro

In line with the update to the Air range in the summer, the retina MacBook Pro notebooks are being upgraded to the new Intel Haswell processors. These provide a performance boost as well as significant improvements to battery life. The 13" model now boasts an impressive 9 hour battery life while the 15" model can rack up 8 hours of use.

There has been no update to the non-retina MBP line which says to me that they will be phased out in the next year or so. Further evidence for this can be gained from the price cut to the 13" retina MBP; there is now only £100 difference between the two, the retina MBP now costs only £1099.

Mac Pro

The wonderfully redesigned Mac Pro will finally be available this December.

A radical redesign of the desktop computer, it boasts the capacity for 12 cores, huge amounts of memory and storage and the ability to run 3 of Apple's Cinema Display monitors via Thunderbolt. 

I actually cannot wait to see one of these in the flesh, it is such a unique design and typical of what Apple does best.

OSX Mavericks

Lastly, the newest update to OSX, Mavericks, is available now on the Mac App Store...

For free

That's right, for the first time Apple has released a major OS iteration for free. Providing you're running OSX Lion or above, just pop into the App Store and you can download the new OS for free. 

And that's it. It's a lot to take in, I know. What are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments below

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Apple Media Event Tonight

At 10am PST (6pm UK time) Apple CEO Tim Cook will once again take to the strage at Cupertino and provide us Apple geeks with more to salivate over.

What can we expect though?

Rumours are abound that the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 will be formally revealed today. Since the iPhone 5S was released, the rumour mill has been going ballistic about thinner, lighter iPads and more powerful Minis.

It's also widely expected that the redesigned Mac Pro will get a release date, as will OSX Mavericks. Given the processor and battery update to the MacBook Air range in June, the smart money would be on the MacBook Pro range getting a bump up to the new Intel Haswell processors.

There's quite a few rumours relating to Apple announcing their long wanted HDTV as well as the supposed iWatch to compete with the Galaxy Gear. I think these are less likely, but you never know, Apple may surprise us.

Check back later and I'll post up the news as I hear it.

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iPhone 5S Hands On

So, today I visited an Apple store for the first time since the iPhone 5S and 5C were released. My wife was in for a repair on her iPhone which gave me ample opportunity to have a play with the newest iDevice on the block.

Picking up a display model I have to say, it's very impressive. What struck me immediately was its thinness, managing to make my iPhone 4S look positively lardy in comparison. I know the dimensions and weight are almost identical to the iPhone 5, but it's still a marvellous thing to behold when you do get your hands on one .

The first thing I went for was the TouchID demo they have on the display units. This app basically allows you to map your fingerprint to the phone and test it without actually saving it. About 5 taps later and my thumb was successfully mapped and the device was registering my touch with 100% precision. This is very impressive technology for sure.

Next up is the camera, which is a similar 8mp effort as the 5, however with a greatly improved sensor. Now, while I couldn't check any photos on a large screen, the quality of what I was dealing with on the phone itself was superb. Great colour balance and fantastic clarity, everything you want in a decent camera. The slow motion video was well implemented and great fun, though I'm not sure if I'd ever use it properly, it's a fun enough toy.

With the boosted processor, iOS 7 whipped along at a fantastic pace. I've noticed that it can hang a little on my iPhone 4S. With the 5S being designed for the new OS, the performance is excellent. Very quickly opening apps and transitioning between screens.

The new champagne gold colour is quite nice in the flesh, however I still think it's a little gaudy. However, the silver and slate colours are beautiful and understated. I think I would personally go for the silver colour myself, that one to me is clean and elegant.

Initial impressions for the iPhone 5S for me are really good. The TouchID feature is particularly impressive in my eyes. I'll be getting a 5S in the coming months when my upgrade is due so look for a full review coming soon. However, on first impressions this is a stellar handset and worth every bit of the hype

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Blackberry Cuts 40% Of Workforce, Braces For Takeover

Over the last weekend, Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry (formerly Research In Motion) announced that it was cutting 40% of its workforce and suspending consumer phone sales due to severe financial difficulties.

The company is expected to have lost $995million in it's 2nd quarter financial results. With the announcement of 4500 jobs being cut, the share price dropped by 17% to a record low for the firm.

Blackberry's chief executive Thorsten Heins released a statement on Friday saying: "We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability.

"Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user."

Blackberry have been struggling every since competition from the iPhone and Android eroded their enterprise market. Previously, Blackberry's BES service was considered the defacto enterprise email service. However, as soon as iOS and Android began to incorporate secure Exchange email services, Blackberry's market share began to dip.

Blackberry tried to reinvigorate its fortunes with Blackberry 10, a new, eye catching and easy to use operating system bundled with the Z10 and Q10 handsets. However, spiralling costs and massive delays cost the company massively, with less than 6 million of the units sold since their release in January 2013. Considering after 3 days on sale, Apple had sold 9 million iPhone 5S units, it's an unmitigated failure for a device that had the future of a whole company on its shoulders.

The company is primed for takeover with Fairfax Financial, a corporate holdings company, pitching $4.7billion for the beleaguered firm. This values each share at around $9 each, wiping billions off the value of the company at it's peak.

Blackberry also announced that they were pulling their planned Blackberry Messenger app for iOS and Android devices. Once the "must have" part of teenage life, Blackberry Messenger has seen massive declines in user figures as users migrate to free alternatives such as WhatsApp or Snapchat.

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iOS7 Review

So, after months of waiting, Apple finally released iOS7 to the public on Wednesday. This is the first chance I've had to play with it, so I'm understandably excited.

Now, I'm not going to detail all the changes, that would take far too long and to be honest, there's already been plenty written about the new features, so I'm going to pick out a couple of things I use and detail those.

1: The UI

As you can see, it's a complete redesign. The Forstall design era is well and truly over. The new UI is flatter, features a lot of visually pleasing tricks and gimmicks.

For a start, the apps sit forward from the background, so if you tilt the phone on the home screen the background moves slightly. It's not a big difference, but it's a nice effect nonetheless.

Fonts have been refined, everything is cleaner and neater. It's rather nice.

2: The task menu

Swipe up from anywhere in the phone (including the lock screen) and you get this task menu. Simply enough it gives you quick short cuts to common functions such as Bluetooth, wifi, airplane mode, air play and the current music playing.

It's a nice feature, something iOS has been lacking since it's inception.

3: Multitasking

So whereas in iOS6, multi tasking consisted of the screen sliding up and a row of your open icons, in 7, you double tap the home button and you are greeted by this rather splendid card view.

While it does look similar to the Palm Pre's Palm OS, it makes multitasking look much snazzier, even if it doesn't add any functionality.

4: Notification Centre

The notification centre has had an overhaul. The transparency that sits throughout iOS7 is present here. Swipe down from any screen, again, including the lock screen, and you get a quick overview of your day. The weather, calendar events and your stocks.

The previous notification centre was overly cluttered and too busy for me, so this is a welcome change.

5: Camera

The camera app now caters directly for the Instagram lovers out there, with live filters and square frame photos all available from the camera's menus, it's a fairly pointless change in my eyes. But, plenty of people will enjoy it, so I can see the reasoning behind it.

The Verdict

I've only been able to play with iOS7 for a few hours, but overall it's a welcome change. iOS was getting stale and restrictive.

Although this UI change is very reminiscent of Android 4.3, it puts Apple back into the game when it comes to a modern UI.

One thing I will say is that on the iPad 2 it runs pretty slowly. So I'm assuming that on the iPhone 4 it will be the same. I'm running iOS7 on my iPhone 4S and whips along at a decent rate, so I would say the best way to experience iOS7 is to use iPhone 4S/iPad 3 or upwards.

Still, I like this UI a lot and I'll be interested to see the extra functionality on the 5S, such as the TouchID and Air Drop functions.

iOS7 is free to download now through iTunes or over the air when your device is connected to a wifi hotspot

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Apple Announce The iPhone 5C and 5S

Straight from the live text, Apple have announced the next generations in the iPhone range.

First up, the 5C. The 5C entirely replaces the iPhone 5. It features exactly the same internal components save for an improved battery. The main difference is the new hardened polycarbonate shell, which comes in a range of colours.

The 5C is taking over the traditional "Previous model" price point. In the past, when Apple has released a new phone, they have knocked the previous model down to an 8gb storage amount and cut the price by about $100. This changes things. For the first time, it's still available in 16 or 32gb and there has been a significant design change. As well as this, a range of silicone rubber cases has been designed to complement the iPhone 5C, in a range of rather bright, teen friendly colours. Here is the green phone combined with the blue case... yeah...

Other than the case though, the phone is identical to the iPhone 5.

The new flagship phone for Apple is the iPhone 5S. This is an evolution on the 5 adding a raft of new features to the device, not least, another new colour palette:

That's right, that's a champagne gold colour you can see in between the traditional slate and silver colours. 

But away from the colour of the unit, there have been some serious revisions under the hood. The new A7 chip is 64 bit, contains 40x the processing power that the original iPhone had and is complemented by a second chip, the M7 co-processor which is dedicated to processing data from the motion sensors. This means that more of the phone's raw processing power can go towards apps and games, without having to worry about tracking the gyroscope and accelerometer in the phone.

The camera has also gotten a bump, featuring a 15% larger sensor and an f/2.2 size aperture to provide the best quality photos possible. The camera is capable of burst mode, 120fps slo-mo and features two LEDs for the flash, which the phone automatically adjusts to give you the perfect low light exposure.

The biggest new feature however, is TouchID. Yes, it's a fingerprint sensor. This excites me far too much.

Essentially, the home button now allows you to unlock your phone. The home button now contains a fingerprint sensor, protected by laser cut sapphire, which lets you simply touch your finger to the button and unlock the screen. This can also be used to authenticate iTunes/AppStore/iBooks purchases and save you constantly entering passwords. For the concerned among you, the fingerprints are encrypted and saved on the A7 chip, they are never shared with iCloud, nor are they allowed to be shared anywhere within the phone, which is a definite relief.

The iPhone 5S and 5C will both ship with iOS7 on the 20th of September. iOS 7 is available to download on the 18th of September. You can pre-order the 5C from Friday 13th of September, however there are no pre-orders available for the the 5S, you'll simply have to go and queue if you want one.

The UK prices are as follows (screen caps from the Apple UK store):

If you want the full, blow by blow details from the press conference, check out our live blog of the event here

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Apple iPhone Event Live Coverage

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Apple Introduce iPhone Trade In Scheme

Apple has introduced a trade in initiative in its US retail stores.

Simply enough, take in your old iPhone and an Apple Pip (my name for those who work in the stores) will check your phone out, then issue you with a voucher/gift card at a set value. This must then be used immediately towards the purchase of a new iPhone.

The amount you get for your old phone is based on the model, capacity and condition of the unit.

The timing of this couldn't be more significant as we're now only a week and a half away from the 10th of September, the much rumoured date that the iPhone 5S and supposed 5C are to be revealed.

Other rumours that are kicking about are that the new iPhone(s) are to be available for purchase on the 20th of September in the traditional first wave countries (US, UK, Europe etc), which follows the previous pattern of an iPhone being available 2 to 3 Fridays after its announcement.

The rumour is backed up by information that T-Mobile US and AT&T have stopped holidays for a period starting on the 20th of September. Networks only do this when there is a huge release coming and they need to have all hands on deck to make sure they have enough staff to cover the demand.

Having worked at T-Mobile UK across two iPhone launch dates (4 and 4S), it's pandemonium on the phones, so it's a very sensible stance to take. 

More information as I get it

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New iPhone Announcement in September?

Rumours are flying around the Internet that the next iPhone (5S? 6?) is going to be revealed at an Apple press event on the 10th of September.

At present, it's just rumours as Apple hasn't issued invites to any event on that day. However, given their past behaviour on such things its a strong possibility.

Apple have frequently revealed iPhone and iPod releases on the second Tuesday in September. There was no iPhone announcement at WWDC in June so logically this would sense.

Also, Apple has just seeded the 6th developer beta of iOS 7, so based on previous experience this would give credence the to the possibility that the new OS is close to release, which typically happens the week of, or the week before a new iPhone is released.

So while it's not set in stone yet (and won't be until Apple release press accreditation), it's looking very likely.

So what can we expect from the next iPhone?

Well, we definitely know it'll be running the completely revamped iOS7, which to be honest, I'm very excited for. iOS hasn't really changed much in its overall look since the first iPhone. Sure there's been incremental updates, but the look and feel has remained largely the same since 2007. But this is an obvious inclusion.

The rumour mill around potential features has been going ballistic of late. People have surmised that the next iPhone could contain a fingerprint reader, controls on the rear of the device (unlikely), a gold version of it (I hope that doesn't happen), a cut price version with a plastic shell as well of a host of other outlandish suggestions.

Personally, I reckon we'll get the requisite camera improvements, better signal processing and improvements to the finish so it doesn't chip so easily. The big part of the new iPhone will be iOS7, so I can't imagine there'll be an amazing amount of hardware changes. Though I'll be very happy if I'm proved wrong.

It's only a few weeks till September 10th, so keep your eyes peeled. I'll keep you all updated, because I'm nice like that.

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Beware Fake Phone Chargers

It's become a big story recently that fake phone chargers can be dangerous. The major news outlets are reporting that people have bought chargers for their phones from cheap sources that are actually knock offs, which have then gone on to explode, catch fire or destroy their expensive phones.

As lovers of gadgets, surely that last thing any of us wants is for our shiny, expensive smartphone to get destroyed by a cheap chatty charger, right?

So why are these chargers suddenly under the spotlight?

In July, Apple started a charger amnesty in the US. Basically, if you had a fake iPhone charger you could return it to Apple for disposal and in turn, get an official charger for $10 instead of the normal $25. 

That is just in the US however, the same doesn't apply around the world.

The issue of fake accessories has been around for a long time, it's nothing new, however with the current rise of premium smartphones with expensive accessories, the market for cheap chargers has never been greater.

Availability is also an issue. Just search "iPhone charger" in eBay and you'll return hundreds of thousands of results, all of them cheap knock offs made in China. Now I'm not saying that all of them are dangerous, but I would suggest exercising caution around them.

In the UK, you need to look out for two things on anything you buy. The BSI Kite symbol:

And the European Commission CE logo:

These two symbols confirm that the device has been tested and built in accordance with UK and European law. They show that the product conforms to the standards expected of them. If these symbols are missing, it's a knock off, don't touch it.

The golden rule for me, however, is that if Apple are selling their chargers for £15 and someone on eBay is selling them for £1, it's too good to be true. No matter how much they say they're genuine chargers, they won't be. Move away from them and spend the extra on the official charger. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Update:

Apple have now extended the charger amnesty worldwide. So pop into an Apple store with your counterfeit chargers as soon as possible 

 

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Buyer's Guide: iPad or iPad Mini?

If you've ever been into an Apple Store (and I'm guessing most of you have) you can overhear a frequent conversation:

Customer: So which is better? The iPad or the iPad mini?
Apple Pip: They're both good it's down to your personal preference sir/madam

It can be infuriating to listen to because in my mind both of them are great devices that fill a specific use. So lets break things down here in a pros and cons list of each product so that you, the lovely reader out there can decide what you would prefer:

iPad:

THE tablet computer, the device that effectively created the category of tablet to fill the hole between a smartphone and a netbook. Steve Jobs himself hated the concept of a netbook as you were effectively paying over the odds for a cutdown laptop that didn't do as much as a full sized laptop and what it could do, it couldn't do very well. His idea was less about shrinking a laptop down (though that had already been achieved by the MacBook Air), but more about boosting what a smartphone could do. It was never advertised as a replacement to a laptop, that's not what it's there for, however, it makes mobile web browsing a much better prospect than the small screen of the iPhone. It has also landed on it's feet for gaming, with much richer, more complex games being developed for it, then shrunk down to accommodate the iPhone and iPod touch. So what are the pros and cons of it:

Pros:

The retina display is gorgeous: Yes, all 9.7' and obscene amount of pixels combine to make one of the best displays you could read anything on. Especially when it comes to apps like iBooks, the text just jumps out at you. 
It is powerful: Running on the A6x chip, the full sized iPad packs a performance punch. Games load and run smoother, apps transition quicker and photos render faster than you can blink
It's sturdy: The gorilla glass and aluminium construction mean that while it weighs quite a bit compared to cheaper tablets, it's a sturdy beast that it's going to break if you do happen to drop it by accident.
Cons:

It's expensive: the 16gb wifi only model of the iPad costs £399. Now, considering it's refined use and closed OS in iOS, it's a lot to ask for people to spend £399 on an iPad when you can get a reasonable laptop for about £50 less.
The size: With a 9.7inch screen, it's bigger than any book you probably own and it's slightly cumbersome, especially for bedtime reading. When I use mine is most commonly on the sofa and I tend to have it resting on the arm of the chair, or on my legs… much like a laptop. 

iPad Mini:

So, in 2012, Apple released the iPad Mini. Ever since he first iPad came out, the internet was awash with thoughts that eventually Apple would shrink down the iPad to compete with the lower end of the tablet market, those like Samsung who were aiming their Galaxy Tab devices at a cheaper audience and making use of 7 inch screens. Steve Jobs had publicly stated that he didn't like the idea of 7 inch tablets and that the concept was dead in the water, people wanted 10 inch tablets. After his passing, new Apple CEO Tim Cook reversed the logic and delivered to us the iPad mini. A cut size, cut price model aimed at those who lust after an iPad but can't afford to drop nearly £400 on the base model. But what does the Mini have going for it?

Pros:

The price: it's significantly cheaper than the full sized iPad, the 16gb wifi model starting at £269. A much more comfortable price point, if you ask meß
It's still powerful: While it uses the dual core A5 chipset, rather than the quad core A6x, it's still a powerful beast. With having a much smaller screen to work with, it doesn't need to be powerful. It can still play demanding games like Infinity Blade without breaking a sweat.
The size: With a 7.9 inch display, the iPad Mini is small enough to be comfortably held in one hand. At 308g, it's not even heavy enough to tire your arms out if you're holding it up while reading. Clearly it's been aimed to disrupt the Kindle Fire market.
Cons:

The size: In some respects, the smaller form factor can make certain apps harder to read. It has exactly the same screen resolution as the iPad 2, so apps that look perfectly fine on the iPad 2 looks really tiny on the iPad mini. The best I can think of is the Facebook app, which just looks teeny and squashed together.
The construction: This is more aimed at the black model, but just like the black iPhone 5, the unit is painted aluminium, which of course means that if you don't buy a case for it that you are going to attract unsightly silver marks where the paint is chipping off. This isn't so much of an issue with the white model, but if (like me) you prefer the black iPads, then you're going to have to buy a case.
So which is best to get. Well, in my mind, the Mini would be the better of the two unless you absolutely need the larger screen. Seeing as the Mini can do pretty much everything the full sized model can do, for £120 less, my money would go to the mini. That's not to say the full sized one isn't worth the money, but the mini just seems far better value to me.

Or you could save your money for an 11inch MacBook Air, but that's a whole other discussion.

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