Hannibal Gaddafi's iPad reveals how Muammar's sons revelled in violence - Daily Mail

The discovery of an iPad belonging to the youngest son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has revealed hundreds of shocking images of torture alongside glamorous shots of the family's mansions, yachts and private jet.

It is believed to be the personal computer of high-rolling Hannibal Gaddafi, whose history is littered with allegations of domestic abuse, violence, torture and kidnappings.

The tablet surfaced after it was seized from his home in Tripoli by militiamen fighting against his father in 2011, before being passed through activists groups and journalists in a covert operation to smuggle it out of the country.

The images have finally been made public after Hannibal was mysteriously kidnapped near Lebanon's Syrian border, on December 11.

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Shopping: Hannibal Gaddafi with his wife Aline Skaf, as he helps her remove a pair of extravagant black and white boots in a photograph discovered alongside more than 1,700 images of torture

Luxury: Family holiday snapshots show the youngest son of Muammar Gaddafi, Hannibal, on a pedalo with his wife and young son

Brutal: More than 1,700 photographs and videos discovered on what is believed to be the private tablet of Hannibal Gaddafi show vicious torture leaving prisoners battered and bleeding

The 40-year-old was then taken into custody on December 13 by Lebanese authorities for allegedly withholding information about the 1978 disappearance of a revered Shiite cleric, in Libya. 

Hundreds of images show the Gaddafi family living the high-life on luxury holidays and hopping between their many mansions.

But the discovery of more than 1,700 images of beaten and tortured prisoners reveal a much darker side to Gaddafi's glamorous lifestyle.

The battered people in the photographs, with blood-shot eyes and bloodied mouths, are believed to be detainees at the infamous Bosleem prison in Tripoli.

Dozens more videos were also saved on the tablet, which appear to show prisoners being tortured during questioning.

But this is not the first time that allegations of violence have brought the life of Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife, former lingerie model Aline Skaf, under the microscope.

The parents-of-two were both arrested by Swiss authorities in 2008, on charges of 'bodily harm, threatening behaviour and coercion' after claims they abused two of their staff at the Gaddafi's hotel in Geneva. 

Violence: A man believed to be a prison guard at the notorious Bosleem prison in Tripoli can be seen beating a prisoner with a long, thin rod

Battered: Two men, believed to be prisoners from the infamous Bosleem prison in Tripoli are seen with blood-shot and bruised eyes, in photographs discovered on the tablet

Secret: The tablet device, which contained hundreds of photographs of torture and extravagant family holidays,  was first seized in Augst 2011 by militiamen fighting against Colonel Gaddafi

Torture: A blindfolded man, believed to be a prisoner at the Bosleem jail in Tripoli, is beaten during questioning

Attack: The images were discovered on what is believed to be the personal computer of Hannibal Gaddafi, after it was seized from his Tripoli home by militiamen fighting against his father, dictator Colonel Gaddafi

Gaddafi also faced claims in 2008, from a Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, that he had directed the abduction and beating of a Libyan national while studying as a student in Copenhagen.

Although Gaddafi brought a lawsuit against the newspaper, he failed to appear in court to present his side of the case and the court ruled in support of the newspaper's version of events.

Perhaps most shockingly, police were called to Claridge's Hotel in London in 2009, after reports of a woman screaming from inside.

Police were met by three of Gaddafi's bodyguards blocking the entrance to the couple's room in the luxury hotel.

His wife Aline was then discovered inside the room bleeding heavily, and she had to be taken by ambulance to hospital where she was treated for facial injuries.  

During the Libyan civil war in 2011 Gaddafi and his wife fled to Algeria, before moving to Oman in October 2012 after they were granted political asylum.

Extravagant: Found photographs show Hannibal Gaddafi on luxury holidays with members of his family, including his wife and young son and daughter, alongside horrific images of torture

Posing: Muammar Gaddafi’s youngest son, Hannibal, poses in one of hundreds of personal images of his family at home and on holiday

At home: Hannibal Gaddafi is pictured at one of his family’s many mansions in Tripoli. He has been accused of numerous cases of violence and involvement in abductions

European tour: The 40-year-old son of Colonel Gaddafi, Hannibal, pictured with his wife Aline Skaf in front of the Eiffel Tower

After they fled Tripoli, their Ethiopian nanny Shweyga Mullah was found abandoned in a room at one of the family's luxury seaside villas in the west of the city.

She claimed that Aline Skaf had taken her into a bathroom, tied her up, gagged her and begun pouring boiling water on her head.

Aline allegedly lost her temper with her when Mullah refused to beat her young daughter when she was crying.

Mullah was reportedly denied sleep, food and water for more three days. Another member of their staff also supported her story, and claimed he had been regularly beaten and slashed with knives.  

The tablet was first seized when a group of militiamen, who were fighting against the dictator Muammar Gaddafi, entered Hannibal's Tripoli home in August 2011.

Flying high: Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife, Aline Skaf, have faced numerous allegations of violence and domestic disputes, including a 2009 incident at London hotel Claridge’s after she was found beaten and bloody in their suite

Relaxing: Just one of the hundreds of images of Hannibal Gaddafi and his family enjoying extravagant holidays, that were discovered alongside images of torture on what is believed to be his private computer

Hand-in-hand: The couple, who have two young children, have also faced allegations of ‘bodily harm, threatening behaviour and coercion’ in relation to staff members at a hotel they were staying at in Geneva

High life: Hannibal Gaddafi with his wife, former lingerie model Aline Skaf, posing together while on one of their many luxury holidays

MP ARRESTED OVER THE MYSTERIOUS KIDNAPPING OF HANNIBAL GADDAFI 

A former lawmaker has been arrested by Lebanese authorities in connection with the mysterious kidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi, according to security sources.

Intelligence services brought in former MP Hassan Yaacoub for questioning on Thursday as part of their investigation into the brief kidnapping of Gaddafi, the security source said.

Gaddafi, who resided in Syria, was kidnapped on December 11 in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley near the Syrian border, but was freed by police hours later.

Earlier this week, Lebanese authorities charged Gaddafi with withholding information about the disappearance of revered Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who vanished in Libya in 1978.

According to the security source, investigators discovered that Yaacoub had orchestrated an elaborate scheme to seize Gaddafi from Syria and bring him to Lebanon.

“They discovered that Yaacoub had worked with a woman named Fatima to lure Gaddafi from [the coastal Syrian province] Latakia to Damascus, then to Lebanon,” he said.

Security forces arrested Yaacoub, who will undergo further questioning and will be held until authorities decide whether to charge him.

Lebanon’s national news agency confirmed Yaacoub’s arrest and said it had sparked protests and road closures in east Lebanon.

Yaacoub is a former member of parliament from the Shiite Amal movement, which is popular in Lebanon’s south and east and which was founded by Sadr.

Sadr went missing in Libya in 1978 during an official visit, along with an aide and a journalist.

Beirut blamed the disappearances on longtime Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, and Gaddafi family members were branded personae non gratae by Lebanon, especially among members of the Shiite Muslim community.

But Hannibal Gaddafi had secured political refugee status in Syria, a statement by the government in Damascus said earlier this week. 

It was then handed to a group of media activists based in the Libyan capital who examined the content.

Horrified by their discovery of the gruesome photographs, they released several of the videos and photographs on social media.

But they claim one of their members was kidnapped following the publication – whose fate is still unknown – and, terrified, they decided to move the content of out Libya and handed it to Lebanese journalist Mohamad Chreyteh.

Mr Chreyteh has spent the last year verifying the content, and only decided to make some of the images public after hearing that Hannibal Gaddafi had been taken into detention on December 13.

Hannibal Gaddafi is under investigation for withholding information in relation to the 1978 disappearance in Libya of Shiite cleric, Moussa al-Sadr.

He was handed over to Lebanese Internal Security officials by gunmen who had seized him in Baalbek, Lebanon. 

Lebanon on Wednesday rejected a request by Damascus to return Gaddafi to Syria, which considers him a 'political refugee'.

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said he was denying the request because Hannibal Gaddafi was a wanted man in Lebanon.

He has been charged with withholding information about the disappearance of the cleric, during an official visit to Libya.

ipad – Google News

Why the Apple Inc. iPhone 6c Should Feature an A9 Processor - Motley Fool

It has been known for quite some time that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is planning to launch a spiritual successor to the four-inch iPhone 5s, commonly referred to as the iPhone 6c. According to respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new iPhone will feature Apple’s latest-generation A9 processor.

However, there have been some contradictory reports — from sources that, to me, are less reliable than Kuo — that the iPhone 6c will instead use Apple’s older-generation A8 chip.

In this article, I’d like to go over some — in my view, quite compelling — reasons that this new phone should feature the A9 rather than the older A8.

Strengthening the iOS software ecosystem with powerful hardware
Arguably the biggest competitive advantage that Apple has in the smartphone market is the strength of iOS and its ecosystem. Since Apple tends to ship fairly high priced and powerful devices, developers can generally assume a greater level of processing power compared to what they can assume is available on the Android platform.

To illustrate this point, the lowest end iPhone that’s currently for sale is the iPhone 5s, which features Apple’s A7 processor. Although the A7 has been eclipsed in performance by Apple’s latest chip offerings, it is still quite a bit faster than the majority of the low-end and mid-range Android chips in the market today (though next year mid-range Android phones should see a solid boost in performance with processors like the Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Snapdragon 650/652 processors).

If Apple endows the next-generation entry-level iPhone with a chip as powerful as the A9, developers can start targeting their apps for that level of performance, ultimately leading to a richer and more vibrant iOS software ecosystem relative to Android.

Since Apple is working feverishly to get as many Android users to “switch” to iOS as possible, strengthening the software ecosystem is unequivocally a good thing.

A small, slim, and powerful device needs an efficient processor
The A9 is built on 14/16-nanometer manufacturing technologies from both Samsung (NASDAQOTH:SSNLF) and TSMC (NYSE:TSM). These technologies are key to enabling the massive performance-per-watt boost that the A9 delivered over both the A7 and the A8 chips built on older 28-nanometer and 20-nanometer technologies, respectively.

Although the A8 was a bit more efficient than the A7 and delivered a reasonable — though not earth-shattering — boosts in performance, the A9 offered substantial improvements in both performance and efficiency.

It’s worth pointing out that in order to get the A8 chip to fit into the fifth-generation iPod Touch — a slim, four-inch handheld device — Apple had to dial down the chip’s CPU speed from 1.4 gigahertz in the iPhone 6/6 Plus to just 1.1 gigahertz.

The iPhone 6c will also be a four-inch device, though we don’t know how thick it will be. That being said, I am sure that Apple would love to be able to slim the device down a bit from the 7.6 millimeter thickness of the iPhone 5s.

In order to deliver substantially more performance in a slimmer device, Apple is going to need a chip that’s significantly more efficient than either the A7 or the A8. The A9 — which is already being manufactured in the tens of millions of units — seems to fit the bill quite nicely.

Are there any downsides to using the A9 over the A8?
Nothing in life is free, and obviously the A9 chips is more expensive to manufacture than the A8. The A9 also likely requires the use of more expensive (although more power efficient) LPDDR4 memory rather than the LPDDR3 memory that the A8 uses.

However, the difference in raw manufacturing costs between the A8 and A9 is probably on the order of low-to-mid single digit dollars. Using LPDDR4 also probably adds a couple of bucks to the bill of materials cost relative to using LPDDR3.

However, Apple is a premium device company and it’s not as though it is trying to sell these phones for cheap; the rumored price range for the new four-inch iPhone is $ 450 to $ 550. A few bucks in additional bill of materials costs to make the product substantially better (increasing the likelihood that iPhone 4s/5/5c/5s owners will choose to upgrade) seems more than worth it in this case.

3 Companies Poised to Explode When Cable Dies
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Ashraf Eassa owns shares of Qualcomm. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple and Qualcomm. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

iphone – Google News

McDonald's is testing mac and cheese - Fox News

Published December 21, 2015

A Cleveland McDonald’s is trying out macaroni and cheese for a limited time. (McDonald’s)

The Golden Arches thinks you need a double dose of cheese during your next burger run.

A Cleveland McDonald's is now testing a macaroni and cheese dish served a la cart or as a Happy Meal option to fries, Brand Eating reports. It’s on sale for an extra $ 1.75 for a limited time with an end point that hasn't been announced yet.

Eater spoke with a McDonald’s employee who says that the product comes in frozen and has 190 calories, about the same as a four-piece McNugget. 

McDonald’s has been experimenting with many menu items in order to boost sales –and it’s all-day breakfast promotion has given it a much-needed shot in the arm.

While the burger chain often gets criticized for marketing junk food to children, kids today can get apple slices, yogurt, milk, or juice with their meal–and in 2013 it was one of the first fast food chains to remove soda from Happy Meal menus. 

mac – Google News

Riverfront IPOD will change zoning along all Pittsburgh's rivers - South Pittsburgh Reporter

By Tom Smith
South Pittsburgh Reporter Editor 

December 22, 2015 | Vol. 76 No. 24

The City of Pittsburgh has begun a process to transform riverfront property from an industrial commodity to being an amenity with not only a local but also a regional draw.

Speaking at the December meeting of the South Side Planning Forum, City Planner Ashley Holloway and Community Affairs Liaison Sally Stadelman outlined a plan to institute a temporary Riverfront Interim Planning Overlay District (IPOD) for the next 18 to 24 months while the Zoning Code is updated.

Mr. Holloway explained the IPOD would make the zoning process "a little more stringent." Currently zoning along the rivers is Urban Industrial, allowing almost anything to be built there and "we don't want that to happen anymore."

The goal is to make riverfront property safer and more accessible to the public. The Riverfront IPOD will affect property along all three rivers.

Properties extending out 200 ft. from the river will be under a set of more stringent guidelines, while properties 200 ft. to the boundary's edge will follow less strict guidelines. Design and review requirements will vary by the project size and proximity to the river.

Among other things, a review will be required in Zone A, from the river extending out 200 ft ., for building demolition, erecting or enlarging structures by more than 2,400 feet, and for every new or enlarged parking area.

In Zone B, 200 ft. to the boundary of the zone, every structure or group of structures larger than 10,000 will require review along with new or enlarged parking areas of more than 15 parking stalls.

As part of the design review process for buildings, it will provide site plan review criteria and allows the Zoning Administrator to request a transportation analysis. The Planning Commission will also be able to ask if the project team has reached out to pertinent community groups.

The minimum riverfront setback will be 50 ft ., excluding activities that require riverfront access such as a marina. A 95 ft. setback is proposed to protect the river's environmental quality and to create space for a linear, continuous riverfront trail.

No more than 30 percent of a building's footprint may be located within 95 ft. of the river. No building will be permitted to be longer than 500 ft. to ensure public access to the river.

The IPOD will not permit any flat, blank walls longer than 70 ft. that are visible from a street, pedestrian easement or the river's edge. If walls are longer than 70 ft ., they will be required to be articulated through stepbacks, doors, windows, building entrances or lobbies.

Mr. Holloway noted the buildings will be required to have some sort of transparency such as windows.

Parking will not be permitted to be visible from the riverfront and will be required to be screened. While parking will be limited in the size of surface lots next to the river and pedestrian walkways, there will be a limited amount of parking permitted for visitors to the riverfront.

He noted the IPOD wouldn't affect a new building in SouthSide Works. As a Specially Planned District,
ipod – Google News

iPhone 7: 6S vs 6 vs 5S – should you buy one for Christmas or wait for the 7? - The Week UK

The Apple iPhone 7 is due to launch in September 2016, and current rumours suggest that the next model will see Apple conduct a large overhaul of the iPhone formula.

However, with a release date nine months away, Apple’s current offerings – the 5S, 6, and 6S (including the ‘Plus’ size 6 models) – are the handsets you can buy this holiday season, and are likely to continue to be in favour for a few months more. How do Apple’s current phones compare, and what is the state of Apple’s range nine months from a new flagship handset arrives to usurp them?

iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5: Design

The trio of phones currently on offer could be the last iPhones to use a home button according to several prominent iPhone 7 rumours.

There are three sizes available. The entry level iPhone 5S uses a four-inch screen, whilst the two 6 models both come in two different sizes. The smaller, standard 6 and 6S use a 4.7-inch display, while the ‘Plus’ models grow larger to 5.5-inches.

The 5S uses an aluminium chassis, 7.6mm thick and with a chamfered edge. It’s also two tone, the two streaks at the top and bottom on the rear finished in gloss. The 6 models are quite different though. They’re curved aluminium, and one flat colour.

The differences between the 6 and 6S models go unnoticed at a glance, but there are one or two. [1] Techradar highlights how the 6S is actually slightly thicker at 7.1mm, and is also 14g heavier than the standard 6 model. It also uses stronger 7000 series aluminium in its construction, and is available in two extra colours – Gold and Rose Gold. “You’ll really struggle to feel the difference in the hand, but if you’re comforted by the extra strength, then the iPhone 6S is your friend”, the publication concludes.

iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5S: Processor

Each of Apple’s current phones uses a different processor, named in numerical order to differentiate them in terms of performance. The 5S model uses an A7 processor, while the 6 gets the A8 and the 6S the A9.

The older chip in the 5S is outperformed by the A8 and A9 chips in the 6 models, but there’s sufficient gap between those two to warrant taking it into consideration, says Techradar. The A9 is 70 per cent faster than the A8, and the site advises that “if you want to future proof yourself for the next two years, go for the newer model.”

iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5S: Camera

The 6S introduces a new camera over the standard 6 – the megapixel count is upped from 8MP to 12MP. The front facing ‘selfie’ camera leaps up in spec too, and is now 5MP compared to the 1.2MP previously offered.

But the 6S doesn’t stop there. It can now also film in 4K, uses the screen as a flash on the front facing camera for a softer burst of light, and has ‘live photos’ which move if the user presses down on them when they are being viewed.

As for the ageing 5S, it has the same 8MP + 1.2MP setup as the standard 6 model, albeit less refined. According to Know Your Mobile, focussing is much quicker on the 6 than the 5S, and camera performance is much improved in the dark. The super-slow-mo 240 frames per second video capability is twice as good as the 120fps of the 5S’ slow motion function.

iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5S: 3D Touch

3D touch capability is the latest addition to the Apple iPhone tech-roster. It’s only available on the iPhone 6S, and adds new ways to interact with the phone.

Techradar says 3D touch is “probably the number one reason” why people in the market for a new iPhone should consider going for the current range topper. It works by reading the amount of pressure applied to the screen by the user, prompting new shortcuts and options on the screen and adding a new layer of operation to the phone. The shortcuts allow users to ‘pop’ in and out from native apps much quicker than standard swiping and pressing would.

The feature is likely to stick around on new Apple releases, but recent leaks suggest that it will stay within the iPhone stable for now. It looks increasingly likely that the feature won’t be improved upon in the iPhone 7, so it’s futureproof for now.

iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5S: Battery

Improving the battery life of the iPhone is a perennial demand of iPhone users. Size matters here, and the larger the phone, the larger the battery.

The smallest iPhone on sale, the 5S, has a talk time of up to 10 hours and a standby time of 10 days. As you’d expect, the slightly larger 6 improves on this, with 14 hours and 10 days talk time and standby respectively. The even larger 6 Plus models gain even more, with 24 hours talk time and 16 days on standby.

However, Techradar notes that ‘S’ models have a slightly smaller battery life than the standard models, because both have a slightly smaller battery in order to make room to house new features. “Given battery life was already a concern for iPhone users, bringing out a new phone with a shorter time between charges is criminal” the site says.

iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5S: Price

The iPhone 5S, as the cheapest handset, has a sim-free price of £379. Those looking to make the stretch to the 6 will have to pay £459 for the handset (again, sim-free), or £539 for the larger, 5.5-inch screened 6 Plus.

The £539 sim-free pricetag for the 6 Plus is the same price as the standard 6S model, and the range topping 6S plus is priced at £619.

Conclusion

The choices on offer in the iPhone range at the moment can make choosing a handset difficult, especially when the internet is awash with rumours about the iPhone 7 coming next year.

Macworld sums up the debate by looking at the two S model phones in comparison to each other. The iPhone 5S still represents a great budget option, and that many will be drawn towards its smaller, 4-inch screen, the site says.

On the other hand, buying the 16GB iPhone 6S (the cheapest iPhone 6S) is pointless – at almost £200 more than the cheapest 5S (which has 32GB of storage), it’s a steep price to pay. But “there’s no doubt that the iPhone 6s is better than the iPhone 5s”, Macworld adds. The speed of the latest iPhone, combined with brand new and innovative features like 3D touch make it a compelling purchase.

“Get the iPhone 6S if possible”, the site concludes.

iPhone 7: should you buy the iPhone 6S for Christmas or wait until the iPhone 7 is out?

December 18

The new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models may have only recently reached the hands of customers, but according to KnowYourMobile.com, Apple has “big plans” for the iPhone 7.

But what if you’re looking to get hold of a new iPhone right now? Is it worth holding on for the next model which is likely to come out in September 2016, or would it be better use Christmas as an opportunity to get your hands on Apple’s current offering as soon as possible? 

Just what could the next iPhone do so differently to tempt iPhone users to wait it out?

See related 

Does Apple slow old iPhones when a new model comes out?

Apple Watch: should you buy one this Christmas or wait for the Apple Watch 2?

Galaxy S6 vs iPhone 6S review: is the new iPhone 6S better than the Galaxy S6?

No home button

Designer Hasan Kaymak put together a concept video for the iPhone 7 which features a number of tantalising ideas, including the notion that Apple might do away with the home button completely on its forthcoming model. This makes room for a completely edge-to-edge display, meaning that the phone will have no wasted space on its front face.

One of the most recent rumours – that Apple currently has five different prototype handsets undergoing scrutiny – suggests an iPhone with built-in fingerprint recognition software in the screen is currently being tested. The existence of such a phone supports the idea that Apple could do away with the home button and have an edge-to-edge screen.

Even thinner?

Apple’s never-ending pursuit of thinner devices is expected to continue on the next iPhone. It is strongly rumoured that the iPhone 7 could ship without the industry-standard 3.5mm headphone jack in favour of using either the lightning port or a USB-Type C port for docking headphones to. The USB type-C rumour has been around for some time after Apple equipped it as the only port on the new Macbook, and an iPhone equipped with USB-C is rumoured to be a prototype handset, but some feel ditching from the lightning port introduced in 2012 would be a move too soon.

Getting rid of the headphone jack would be radical but isn’t beyond Apple’s capabilities. If the thickness of the iPhone isn’t paramount to you, the revelations that the handset looks set to get even thinner probably won’t be one of the aspects that could make you wait this Christmas and through into next year before upgrading.

However, if the headphone jack is dropped from the next iPhone in the pursuit of thinness, and the lightning port assumes its duties, Apple could potentially introduce new ways to use headphones with the iPhone, complete with new functions.

In order to soften the blow of getting rid of regular headphone jacks, Apple could provide good reason for doing so by introducing ‘smart headphones’, a set of headphones deeply integrated into the iPhone experience. They could interact with apps and notifications, or control volume autonomously. Apple has already signalled interest in bringing new features to headphones, and has patented a pair with pressure sensors, which can take into account the seal between the headphone bud and ear as well as external ambient noise in order to optimise volume levels for the wearer’s direct environment automatically.

Such a move could also lead the company to invest heavily in developing the Bluetooth headphone option. However, doing this would be dependent on how well Apple can push forward the adoption of wireless headphones over conventional ones, and the launch of the next iPhone would be accompanied by attempts to lure consumers over to Bluetooth.

Waterproof design

Several sites, including Apple Insider, note that the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus have significantly greater water resistance than their predecessors, including a 0.3mm wider ‘lip’ around the frame and a silicone seal around the logic boards. Some tech experts believe that the changes may foreshadow a completely waterproof iPhone 7 in 2016.

New camera setup

One of the more exciting rumoured hardware updates is the introduction of a dual main camera. A dual camera does not mean front and rear facing apertures, but instead marks a large improvement in the functionality of the main camera, as it would introduce optical zoom and replace the fuzzy digital zoom currently offered. The new camera could also improve on the current 12 megapixel resolution currently available on the 6S. 

New 3D multi-touch?

Some commentators say that the new way to interact with Apple’s handsets that was introduced on the iPhone 6S could be improved further. The 3D touch feature, which senses how much pressure is applied to the screen in order to execute different commands, could be expanded to introduce even more new ways to navigate the phone. The idea that 3D touch could gain more functionality on the iPhone 7 stems from the rumour that Apple are testing five different handsets, one of them equipped with the latest version of 3D touch.

Inc suggests the new commands could mean emails can be deleted by holding down two fingers on the screen, and multi-touch pressure could introduce new elements to apps and games. However, adding new elements to the feature so early in its adoption could complicate the matter for iPhone users who have yet to fully discover how to use 3D touch.

More recently, rumours have suggested that the next iPhone will not come with a newer version of the 3D touch feature. A leak from well-established Apple insider and KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo regarding the upcoming iPad Air 3 suggests that Apple will not be bringing 3D touch capabilities to its tablets just yet, and alongside this we cannot expect the 3D touch capabilities of the current iPhone 6S to be expanded when the iPhone 7 is released, most likely some time after the next mid-sized Apple tablet goes on sale.

Wireless charging

Apple is behind the curve on this one, as Samsung, Sony and LG have already released phones that charge without needing to be plugged in, but patent applications published yesterday by the US Patent and Trademark Office indicate that the California-based technology company may finally be preparing to incorporate wireless charging into its next generation phones.

Previously, Apple phones haven’t been able to recharge without being plugged in because, until recently, wireless charging devices couldn’t power batteries through the iPhone’s aluminium case.

Wireless-charging handsets from other companies have tended to be made of plastic so that power can reach their batteries.

But in July this year, Qualcomm unveiled a new wireless charger that works through metals, International Business Times reports, paving the way for Apple to be able to utilise the technology.

Apple’s patent for ‘Inductive Power Transfer Using Acoustic or Haptic Devices’ appears to use a new metal coil which has a double function – in one mode the coil produces sound for the iPhone’s speakers, and in another it can charge the phone wirelessly.

With many of Apple’s rivals this Christmas selling smartphones capable of wireless charging, their advance towards the technology seems mistimed and maybe a little slow. If a phone capable of charging without cables is a necessity for you, an iPhone won’t be on your Christmas list this year. However, the introduction of wirelessly charging iPhones seems inevitable at this point, and will likely happen soon.

Image 5 of 27

Wraparound screen

On 29 September, Apple filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for what it calls “sidewall displays”, International Business Times reports.

The image accompanying the patent shows a phone with a screen that stretches all the way around the device.

Apple says that the reason for the patent is that many mobile devices on the market have come to feature a very similar design which makes no use of their side or rear surfaces.

“A large majority of portable electronic devices have settled into a standard form factor,” Apple says in its patent, “namely a flat planar form factor with a display on one side and an opaque housing that contains the electrical components covering the rear surface of the device.

“Unfortunately, this popular form factor leaves the sides and rear surfaces of the device unused or at best configured with buttons and switches with fixed location and functionality.”

The patent says that there is “a need for an improved form factor for portable electronic devices which allows functionality to extend to more than one surface of the device.”

So perhaps the company is paving the way for a new wraparound display.

Image 7 of 27

Liquidmetal and glass case?

The International Business Times has reported on a patent filed by Apple on 21 August detailing a technology that could be used to create an all-new type of case on the next iPhone.

The iPhone 7, or any future iPhone model, could be built using ‘Liquidmetal’. This is an amorphous metal alloy, but one which Apple has rights to until February 2016.

The patent describes a process whereby the use of Liquidmetal and glass can create an iPhone case with no gaps in it, which might tie in with rumours that the iPhone 7 could be waterproof.

Apple does this by “heating a metal bezel, inserting the glass material and letting it cool to effectively trap the glass in the bezel”.

Apple has been experimenting with Liquidmetal since at least 2010, but hasn’t used the technique to manufacture any products apart from the sim ejector tool supplied with the iPhone 3GS, says IBT.

The company has used many different materials to create the iPhone casing over the years, such as plastic, aluminium, and glass. But it now seems possible that a new way of creating the hard case could be around the corner, and possibly on the iPhone 7.

Intel inside?

According to a report by VentureBeat, the next generation of Apple iPhones could be powered by an Intel chip. The report claims that the chip manufacturer Intel has a team of 1,000 workers trying to ensure that they seal the deal.

Nothing is signed yes, the site says, and it is possible that Apple may choose to use two suppliers for its chips rather than just one: “Apple may dual-source the LTE modems in its new iPhones from both Intel and Qualcomm. Today, Qualcomm's 9X45 LTE chip is baked into all iPhone modems.”

When mobile technology was in its infancy, Intel failed to adapt to the changing market and missed out on partnerships with some major manufacturers, so “This is a must-win for Intel,” a source told VentureBeat.

If a partnership does come about, then sources say that Apple “could turn to Intel to build a new system-on-a-chip (SoC) in the future, which combines both the processor and LTE modem.” This would help to save space and make the phone run faster.

More recently, a note from HSBC to Apple investors was reported by Apple Insider, claiming Samsung, responsible for ’60-70′ percent of current A9 processor production, could be axed as an Apple partner, and the chips could be manufactuered by TSMC exclusively.

• Click here for the latest iPhone 6S deals

Panic button

An Apple patent recently granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office has prompted speculation that the iPhone 7 might include a built-in “panic button”. According to the patent, the fingerprint scanner, which serves as a home button, could be used to lock the device and transmit a warning signal to the emergency services. The phone’s data would then be rendered inaccessible unless authorised by its owner. The Daily Mirror suggests that other features could also be included, such as switching on the camera and microphone to record who is using the phone. These recordings could then be sent to police to help them catch the thieves.

“The mobile device may be unlocked using a designated finger that activates a panic mode of operation, wherein personal data stored on the mobile device is not accessible or viewable to the user,” says the patent application. “In other implementations, the user may register particular fingerprints to be associated with different modes of operation and activate the different modes based on the particular fingerprints.”

iPhone owners can already remotely wipe their devices or track them through the Find My iPhone free app.

OLED or LCD screen?

There have been rumours that Apple was considering introducing an OLED screen for the new iPhone 7. ET News, a South Korean tech website, said it was looking to source the screens from Apple’s smartphone rival Samsung, in time for the production of the next generation of iPhones, expected to be launched late next year.

The main difference between the LCD (liquid-crystal display) screens currently used for iPhones and their OLED counterparts is that LCD displays use a backlight to illuminate their pixels, while OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens create light on their own. Apple currently sources OLED screens from Samsung and LG for its Apple Watch range and the displays have garnered high praise from reviewers.

However, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks Apple will continue using LCD technology for at least three years and likely beyond. He says Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, is preparing to invest in advanced LCD production lines in China for mass production in 2018. On top of that, iPhone backlight supplier Minebea told investors earlier this month that it does not foresee a risk of LCD share loss to OLED in the high-end smartphone market in the next three years.

If true, the decision might disappoint some fans and critics. Last month, Curtis Moldrich at Alphr said Apple would be “crazy” not to use OLED screens. He suggests the “outdated” LCD panel is “one of the reasons they often look pale and washed out” in comparison to OLED-equipped smartphones. “The iPhone 7 will need to give consumers a significant step up in all areas of the user experience if it’s to compete with forthcoming smartphones like the HTC M10 and Galaxy S7,” said Moldrich. “An OLED screen will certainly help Apple fend off the competition.”

Speculation that the iPhone will not make the switch to OLED screens until 2018 have been boosted by reports of a secret facility operated by Apple in Taiwan. A discreet building at the Longtan Science Park in the north of the country is said to be a development laboratory for Apple products, most notably display technology. The reports that the building could contain new iPhone technology that we won’t see for a few years were first leaked to Bloomberg by Apple insiders, who claim up to 50 employees are based there and working on new screens for Apple products.

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Could iPhone 7 interface with the Apple car?

One of the more unusual rumours doing the rounds is that the iPhone 7 could give owners a preview of the forthcoming Apple car, and possibly even allow them to order one through an inbuilt app in the phone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted heavily that he has great interest in his company developing a car, but most technology experts agree that even if such a project is in the works, it is deeply unlikely that it will be anywhere near ready to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 7.

As financial website LearnBonds.com notes: “The Apple Car, if the firm is indeed working on it, isn’t going to hit the roads for a long time yet, and a September 2016 iPhone 7 release date isn’t likely to bring news of the project from Apple, at least not with any clarity.”

The site adds: “We’re not going to be able to order the Apple Car off of the iPhone 7, or not unless we keep it for quite a few years.”

Sapphire screen

Investment bank Piper Jaffray believes that Apple is likely to unveil a raft of major changes with the iPhone 7 including a much improved sapphire screen.

“A sapphire screen has long been rumoured for the iPhone,” says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. “Since Apple now uses sapphire on the Apple Watch, it could make sense for them to adapt it to the phone. We note that Apple is using the stronger aluminium from the Apple Watch Sport for the iPhone 6S case.”

So what advantages would such a screen offer? According to Forbes, “the increased hardness of sapphire is a major pull for handset makers”, but what has long stood in the way of broad uptake of the material is the difficulty involved in its production, which so far has meant it has only featured in high-end luxury brand phones such as Vertu.

Sapphire also has a downside, says Forbes, which is that even though it is good at resisting scratches and scuffs, when it is broken “it tends to shatter not crack”.

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Faster, better, stronger

The iPhone 7 is rumoured to be fitted with a ‘hexa-core’ processor, which will make the phone significantly speedier than the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, a better camera that improves on the current generation’s 12-megapixel lenses, and a stronger body to ensure that the phones do not bend, after some users reported that their iPhone 6 models would flex in their pockets.

So what will the iPhone 7 not do?

One improvement that most tech journalists believe is unlikely to happen is for Apple to significantly boost the iPhone 7′s battery life.

Jonny Ive, Apple’s chief design officer and to some the spiritual successor to Steve Jobs, has said many times that he doesn’t believe a longer battery life is worth the “significant sacrifices” it would require in other areas.

Apple is also expected to phase out its 16GB model when the new iPhone comes out. The 16GB of storage offered in the entry level iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models is considered something of an anachronism in the contemporary world of high-end mobile phones. At 32GB, the smallest Samsung Galaxy S6 phones offer twice as much storage as Apple’s cheapest flagship and still retail for a lower price.

Another common rumour rejected by MacWorld.com is the idea that Apple might change the new phone’s power cable making the iPhone 7 draw power from a USB-C port, like the new 12-inch MacBook. “The change from 30-pin to Lightning is recent enough (and was painful enough for many users) that to switch again now would be highly controversial.”

It is also highly unlikely that the phone will have a spring-out joystick on its home button and a 3-D screen, the site says.

Release date

There is no confirmed release date for the iPhone 7, but Apple’s launch schedule for the past few years offers some clues. The first four generations of the iPhone were released in June or July, but then the 4S came out in October 2011. Since then, Apple has consistently released an iPhone or two iPhones in September each year. Tech critics predict that it will be around September again for the iPhone 7, possibly alongside the Apple Watch 2 if it doesn’t launch sooner.

However, the latest rumours suggest there might also be a mid-2016 Apple launch – for the iPhone “mini”. The phone is predicted to be a 4-inch model, the same size as the iPhone 5S, and to be marketed as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 7. It has been variously dubbed the “iPhone 6C”, the “iPhone 7C” and the “iPhone Mini”. “It’s been rumoured ever since the 5C launched, and it’s fair to say many questions have been raised over its potential existence since – but the same can be said for the iPad Pro,” says TechRadar. A supersized tablet from Apple was rumoured for years but it did eventually materialise, says the site, which reckons Apple is “playing a similar game with the iPhone 6C”.

Rumours regarding the smaller handset, which could be with us earlier in the year than the iPhone 7, so far suggest that the so-called iPhone 6C will have fewer features and lower specifications than the larger flagship handsets. The iPhone 5C did this, offering itself up as a cheaper entry level phone, and current indications points towards the ‘mini’ iPhone being much the same.

Macworld says the latest rumours regarding the iPhone 6C point towards a reveal at an Apple event set to be held in March, with a release not long afterwards. The Apple Watch 2 could also make its debut at the same event. They also highlight the potential specifications of the smaller phone, rounding up rumours suggesting it will be shipped in a metal case with the plastic cover used on the iPhone 5C, will use the A8 processor used in the iPhone 6 models, could have an upgraded camera over the iPhone 5S, but will likely not come with some of the newer features such as 3D touch.

A launch of a smaller phone earlier in the year could tempt those who prefer Apple’s four-inch handsets to wait it out, rather than make the leap to a 6S this Christmas. [2] Research suggests that up to 20 per cent of American Apple consumers would like the company to keep a four-inch option available, and that many are willing to skip out on new features and hardware in order to keep the convenience of a smaller phone.

Waiting it out does not always guarantee getting your hands on the latest handset though, as 2Paragraphs points out. The launch of the iPhone 7 in its various forms is already hugely anticipated, as the current rumours suggest several big changes could be coming. A large-scale launch could result in supply chain issues, and “Apple certainly isn’t going to do anything to make you think waiting is a good move.”

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iPhone 7: What will Mini iPhone 6C be like?

14 December

Apple’s next major handset – the iPhone 7 – is rumoured to be launching in September 2016 with a host of hardware and software improvements over the outgoing 6S models.

However, other rumours say the iPhone 6S will not die just yet. Back in November, the internet was awash with claims that Apple could be introducing a brand new four-inch handset alongside the two likely 4.7- and 5.5-inch flagship iPhone 7s.

First dubbed the iPhone 7 Mini, the four-inch iPhone 7 coming out in 2016 has more recently been referred to as the iPhone 6C.

So what will this smaller phone be like?

Design

The iPhone 5C launched with a plastic casing available in a range of colours. The vibrant tints of the entry level option gave it some flair in comparison to its more powerful siblings.

According to a Chinese report cited by Gotta Be Mobile, the iPhone 6C will still be offered in a range of bright colours, but will come in a metal case instead of a plastic polycarbonate shell.

Camera

According to Neurogadget, the iPhone 6C won’t receive anything new in the camera department and is likely to be shipped with the eight-megapixel rear-facing camera from the iPhone 6, as well as its 1.2-megapixel front-facing aperture.

The site says basic features such as auto image stabilisation, auto HDR and face detection will be available.

iDigital Times says the upgraded and improved camera will be one of the main selling points on the new iPhone 7, and we should expect the 6C to come with the same camera specs as the 6.

Display

The big difference between the 6C and the other handsets will be size. Retaining the four-inch display which has been available since the iPhone 5′s introduction in 2012, means a smaller phone with a resolution of 1136 x 640.

Neurogadget does not believe the iPhone 6C will come with the 3D-Touch display used in the iPhone 6S, because Apple will want to keep the price down.

What’s the point of the iPhone 6C?

Four-inch screens have been available on the iPhone since the introduction of the iPhone 5 back in 2012 and smaller and cheaper iPhones are still popular. Macworld reports on the findings of research conducted by Piper Jaffray, which suggests 20 per cent of US consumers would like a four-inch iPhone.

The same report suggests certain consumers have built up an affinity for four-inch models, and many of the 20 per cent who responded saying they’d like a new small iPhone say so because they have yet to make the leap to the larger and more expensive handsets.

According to Gotta Be Mobile, the four-inch screen is the ‘main feature’ of the smaller iPhone. So long as they continue to be made, certain people will opt for them, consciously buying based on the handset’s smaller size and convenience over the larger, feature-heavy flagship models.

Release date?

One major discrepancy between the iPhone 6C and the other two iPhone handsets coming in 2016 is likely to be the release date.

9 to 5 Mac reports that the next mini iPhone could be introduced during an Apple reveal penned for March, alongside the next Apple Watch. The handset would go on sale not long after, maybe in April, and serve as a warm-up before the larger launch of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus later in the year.

iPhone 7: how can Apple extend the next iPhone’s battery life?

11 December

One of the perennial rumours surrounding just about any future Apple product is that the new introduction will be slimmer than the model it replaces. Such is the company’s dedication to ever thinner products, new releases have historically shipped without features some consider to be necessary.

The latest Macbook dropped conventional USB ports in favour of the smaller USB-Type C when it launched earlier this year, and rumours that Apple could do something similar with the next iPhone by removing the headphone jack have already surfaced.

However, one of the key areas iPhone users want Apple to improve on the next handset is battery life, and this creates a dilemma. How does Apple create a thinner phone with a smaller battery, but increase battery life so owners do not have to charge their phones every day, as so typically is the case with the iPhone?

Energy efficiency improvements?

Some believe that Apple is not planning anything radical to improve battery life, but instead will rely on the improvements in energy efficiency which come as part of the development process and the introduction of new hardware.

The next iPhone will use the A10 chip and, according to Expert Reviews, it will “no doubt, be more energy efficient than the A9 SoC used in the iPhone 6S”. It’s also likely that the next chip will be smaller, taking up less room in the case which can then be used to increase the size of the battery.

The operating system could also grant some battery gains. Apple could be working on making the next iOS draw less energy.

Battery case?

Apple has very recently introduced a smart battery case for iPhone 6 models. The case features a bump on the back, housing a small external battery, and the case has a lightning port connector inside. It can increase the talk time of the iPhone 6 to 25 hours.

However, 

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iPad Pro misses 50000 mark on first month in China, much lower than the iPad ... - Digital Trends

Apple has been very successful in China, selling millions of iPhone 6S and 6S Plus units this year, but the iPad Pro is not looking so hot in its first month on sale in the country.

According to data collected by Beijing analytics firm TalkingData (via Mashable), the massive 12.9-inch tablet sold less than 50,000 units in the opening month. That might not sound bad, but the iPad Air 2 had sold 550,000 units by that time; ten times more.

Related: Apple Music could be getting hi-res audio streaming in 2016

The iPad Mini 4 — launched a few months before the iPad Pro — had similar sales in the first week. However, by the end of the month, the iPad Mini 4 had sold 92,000 units, almost double the iPad Pro.

The iPad Pro is much more expensive than the iPad Mini 4 or iPad Air 2, starting at 5,888 CNY ($ 900) in China. That might account for the lower sales, though another factor could be the vast array of inexpensive 13-inch tablets and laptops available in China.

Compared to the U.S. and Europe, there is an abundance of white box manufacturers building tablets with a much cheaper price tag. On top of that, China is Lenovo's hometown, and the manufacturer still sells millions of desktops and laptops each year.

Apple is expected to sell 2.6 million iPad Pro units by the end of the year, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Most of these sales will be to business and professional customers that want to take advantage of the improved performance, larger display, and first-party accessories on the new tablet.

There are still questions about whether the iPad Pro fixes the tablet dilemma for Apple, most pundits don't seem convinced. It doesn't fix the sales issues the iPad Air and iPad Mini are currently facing, instead creating a new demographic where the iPad Pro competes with the Surface Pro 3 and Google Pixel C.

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Community mourns murders of two men at Edmonton Mac's stores - Edmonton Journal

Police chief Rod Knecht briefs the media on Friday, Dec. 18 on two violent armed robberies in south Edmonton that occurred nearly 10 minutes apart and left two men dead. Video by Bruce Edwards and John Lucas

The impact from the senseless murders of two men working at convenience stores in Edmonton early on Friday morning continues to ripple through the community, as efforts grow to help the families of the two victims. 

Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht has called the murders "extreme acts of violence" that were "absolutely unnecessary, gratuitous, evil."

The victims have been identified as Karanpal Singh Bhangu, 35, who moved to Edmonton with his son this summer, and Ricky Massin Cenabre, 41, who had come to Canada from the Philippines to work, and recently filed paperwork to bring his wife and son to the country as well. 

From a Go Fund Me donation page for Ricky Cenabre, one of two men killed while they worked at Edmonton convenience stores on Friday morning. Family Photo

"(Ricky was) a simple guy. Humble. No fuss. He just wants to have a good life in Canada," said friend Richard Vale.

David Eifert, who works with Bhangu's wife at Progressive Academy, said bringing her family to Canada was "the sole goal of her life." Bhangu was working at Mac's while waiting for certification to work in security.

"This was kind of a dream for the family, to be together again in Canada," Eifert said. 

Fundraising efforts have swelled in the day since the homicides, with donation pages set up for the families of both Cenabre and Bhangu. 

Accused in the case are Colton Steinhauer, 27, Laylin Delorme, 24, and a 13-year-old boy, cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Each is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and a raft of gun and robbery-related charges. 

The string of violence began early on Friday morning, when Bhangu was shot in the stomach while working at a Mac's store at 32nd Avenue and 82nd Street in Millwoods. Police were called to the store with a panic alarm at about 3:30 a.m. on Friday morning. After three phone calls to the store went unanswered, an officer drove to the store and found Bhangu seriously injured. Bhangu died in hospital a short time later. 

A deliveryman walking into another Mac's store at 109th Street and 61st Avenue found a trail of blood on the floor leading to a storage room. He called police, who found Cenabre in a backroom, dead of a gunshot wound. Knecht said it appeared the attackers had dragged Cenabre into the backroom. 

An alert then went out to all police based on security footage from the first store, describing the three suspects and the stolen Honda Element they were driving. Officers also began checking other Mac's stores in the city, and the suspects were spotted outside a Mac's in Callingwood at about 5 a.m.

The group fled police and a chase ensued, which ended when the driver of the Element lost control on Whitemud Drive, hit a guardrail and crashed into a barrier under the Terwillegar overpass. Three people inside the vehicle were arrested without further incident.  

Knecht said the motive for the murders was robbery, and that three men are suspects in other city robberies as well. 

He said the victims did not fight back against their attackers. 

Gallery: Shootings at convenience stores

Homicide detectives are investigating two violent armed robberies in south Edmonton that occurred nearly 10 minutes apart, leaving two men dead early Friday morning.

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  Karanpal Singh Bhangu, 35, is shown with his son Royce and his wife Kiran.

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  Colton Steinhauer, 27, is among three people charged with first-degree murder in the killing of two Mac’s store clerks in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015.

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  Laylin Delorme, 24, is among three people charged with first-degree murder in the killing of two Mac’s store clerks in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015.

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  Flowers have been dropped off at the Mac’s store as a memorial to the murdered clerk at the location on 109th Street and 61st Avenue in Edmonton on December 20, 2015. Bruce Edwards / Edmonton Journal

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  Homicide detectives investigate at a Mac’s convenience store in Edmonton on Dec. 18. Two men were killed early Friday when they were shot during two convenience store holdups. John Ulan / THE CANADIAN PRESS

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  Police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street at 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  Police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street at 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  Police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street at 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  Police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street at 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  A lone police officer mans the scene of a second murder in a Mac’s store at 82 Street and 32 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  A lone police officer mans the scene of a second murder in a Mac’s store at 82 Street and 32 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  The coroner’s van leaves the scene as police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street and 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  The coroner’s van leaves the scene as police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street and 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  A lone police officer mans the scene of a second murder in a Mac’s store at 82 Street at 32 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

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  Police investigate the scene of a murder at a Mac’s Store at 108 Street at 61 Avenue in the early morning hours in Edmonton on Friday Dec. 18, 2015. John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

• 

  From a Go Fund Me page. We lost one of our “kababayan” last Friday from a brutal and senseless robbery/killing in Edmonton. Ricky Cenabre was one of the victims from 2 Mac’s Convenient Stores armed robberies and killings last Friday Dec. 18, 2015. Humble and very Family oriented person who just wanted a good life in Canada. Any amount from your kind hearts will be accepted here and proceeds will be given directly to his Family back home. www.gofundme.com/mzfmhkxg Family Photo

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  Flowers have been dropped off at the Mac’s store as a memorial to the murdered clerk at the location on 109th Street and 61st Avenue in Edmonton on December 20, 2015. Bruce Edwards / Edmonton Journal

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  Flowers have been dropped off at the Mac’s store as a memorial to the murdered clerk at the location on 109th Street and 61st Avenue in Edmonton on December 20, 2015. Bruce Edwards / Edmonton Journal

mac – Google News

Will Apple Inc.'s iPad Air 3 Catalyze an Upgrade Cycle in 2016? - Motley Fool

Apple’s iPad Air 2. Image credit: Apple. 

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, whose track record with respect to upcoming Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) product details is generally excellent, was out with a note on Dec. 15 discussing the iDevice maker’s next generation iPad — the iPad Air 3.

According to the analyst, the device will launch in the first half of 2016. However, the real news is that the next generation iPad won’t feature the 3D Touch technology the company first debuted in the iPhone 6s/6s Plus that launched in September.

Although one feature alone isn’t enough to catalyze a significant upgrade cycle (iPhone 6s/6s Plus sales aren’t doing so well, despite a number of compelling new features), I do wonder whether, sans 3D Touch, Apple will bring enough to its next generation iPad Air to drive a meaningful upgrade cycle.

What I’m expecting from the iPad Air 3 at this point
I expect that with the iPad Air 3, Apple will include a number of compelling internal upgrades. A move from the A8X chip to either the A9 found inside of the iPhone 6s/6s Plus or the A9X found inside of the iPad Pro would be most welcome.

Although I don’t expect Apple to increase the display resolution of the iPad Air 3 relative to the iPad Air 2, I believe Apple will focus on improving the quality of the iPad Air 3′s display.

Indeed, according to display specialist Raymond Soneira with DisplayMate, the iPad Air 2′s display is significantly less efficient than the displays found on both the iPad mini 4 as well as the iPad Pro. The Air 2′s display is also lacking in terms of color accuracy and brightness compared to these two tablets.

Expect Apple to include a more color accurate, more efficient display with the next generation iPad Air.

Next up, I expect Apple will bump up the amount of memory used in the device from 2 gigabytes inside of the Air 2 to 3 gigabytes in the Air 3.

I don’t expect Apple will upgrade either the FaceTime camera or the rear-facing camera to any large extent, mainly due to the fact that the iPad Pro’s cameras seem to be essentially the same as the ones found in the iPad Air 2 and it would be odd for the cheaper iPad Air 3 to have a leg up on the iPad Pro there.

From a wireless perspective, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple carry over the same technology from the iPad Air 2, since those capabilities were good enough for the recently launched iPad Pro.

Finally, I don’t expect Apple to change the industrial design much. The device is already incredibly thin at 6.1 millimeters thick and the design itself is already quite pleasing. The focus this round should be on internal enhancements, not on trying to make the thing thinner and/or lighter.

Answering the title question
The iPad Air 3 should represent a solid, incremental improvement over the iPad Air 2. I expect it to be faster and feature a more pleasing display. These improvements should make the iPad Air 3 a compelling option for those who were already looking to upgrade their aging iPads, but I can’t imagine that they’ll be enough to compel owners of relatively recent iPads (iPad Air, iPad Air 2) to fork over big bucks to upgrade.

3 Companies Poised to Explode When Cable Dies
Cable is dying. And there are 3 stocks that are poised to explode when this faltering $ 2.2 trillion industry finally bites the dust. Just like newspaper publishers, telephone utilities, stockbrokers, record companies, bookstores, travel agencies, and big box retailers did when the Internet swept away their business models. And when cable falters, you don’t want to miss out on these 3 companies that are positioned to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: They’re not the ones you’d think!

Ashraf Eassa has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

ipad – Google News