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CIO.com’s resident reviewer, tech addict and fitness fanatic James A. Martin puts the latest apps, mobile devices, health gadgets and wearable technologies through the paces.
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I exactly can’t prove it, because I haven’t done any formal tests, but I’m fairly sure my iPad Pro battery drains more quickly than my previous iPad’s batteries, even though Apple says all iPads get “up to 10 hours” of life. To make matters worse, the “Low Power Mode” in iOS 9 isn’t available for iPad.
To mitigate these challenges, I found a number of simple tweaks you can use to extend your iPad Pro’s battery life.
1. Turn on iPad Pro Auto-Brightness
An obvious way to reduce drain on your iPad Pro’s battery is to decrease the maximum display brightness setting. The Auto-Brightness setting automatically adjusts screen brightness based on ambient lightning conditions around you. To enable the setting, go to Settings > Display & Brightness. Or if you really want to conserve as much power as possible, manually turn your display brightness all the way down.
2. Keeps tabs on battery-hogging iPad Pro apps
If you go into Settings > Battery, you can see which apps used the most battery power during the last 24 hours or seven days. Tap on an app in the list, and you see how many minutes you used it and how long it worked in the background. With this information, you can either curb the use of certain apps, or follow the next step.
3. Disable iPad Pro app background refresh
Many iOS apps slowly sip battery power as they operate in the background. Background refresh can be convenient — new emails are already in your inbox when you open your email app, for example — but you might want to prevent some apps from constantly updating in the background. To adjust the settings, go to General > Background App Refresh.
4. Adjust iPad Pro notifications appropriately
The more notifications you receive, the more frequently your screen turns on when new alerts arrive (assuming you enable the screen-notification setting), and every on-screen alert reduces battery power. Go to Settings > Notifications to turn off notifications for non-essential apps, or tweak alerts settings for individual apps.
5. Turn on iPad Pro Airplane Mode when reading
Turning off your iPad Pro’s wireless radios when you need Internet access isn’t a good idea, but if you’re just reading a Kindle ebook or a downloaded magazine, consider putting your iPad Pro into Airplane Mode to reduce unnecessary drain on your battery.
6. External power for iPad Pro
If you regularly fly cross-country or internationally and want to be sure your iPad Pro battery goes the distance, consider an external charger. Lots of options are available. For example, I bought a RAVPower Portable Charger with a 9,000mAh battery, a built-in (and convenient) Lightning cable, and a USB port, so I can simultaneously charge another device, such as my iPhone. The power brick costs $ 40 on Amazon, it is Apple MFi-certified, weighs 8.64 ounces, comes with a protective bag, and it recharges my iPad Pro fairly quickly. For $ 10 more, RAVPower’s 3-Port External Battery Pack has a significantly larger 26,800mAh battery and three USB ports, but it weighs a bit more, at 1.01 lbs.
3 ways Fitbit missed the mark with its new Blaze fitness watch (updated)
Criminals really are using iPods to steal bank cards - Geek
The humble iPod nano isn't as popular with the general public as is once was, but there's one group still finding new uses for it: criminals. They're using them to steal people's PINs.
An iPod nano might seem like a ridiculous way to do it, but it's actually an ideal device for capturing button presses. It's got a decent camera and its battery can keep it powered for two to three weeks depending on usage. It's also very slim, which makes it easy for a criminal to hide one above an ATM keypad. Slap a piece of plastic that matches the fascia of the ATM, and most users will never notice it's there.
Fortunately, some folks are starting to check for signs of tampering before they use bank machines. A British woman who stopped to use a Barclay's ATM in Radcliffe noticed something that look out of place on the machine. She grabbed a loose section of plastic and gave it a tug and discovered a modded iPod nano affixed to it. She immediately turned it in to the local police, who urge the public to follow her lead. There's been a rash of iPod scamming going on in the Manchester area in recent months.
The big problem is that not all point-of-sale equipment and ATMs support chip technology yet. So even though it's right there on your card, a lot of machines just ignore it — making skimmer that steal stripe data and iPods that capture PIN entry a workable system for creating duplicate cards and making fraudulent purchases and withdrawals.
Image courtesy Manchester Evening News
Everything we know about the iPhone 7 - Tech Insider (blog)
Recent iPhone 7 rumors help paint a decent picture of what we can expect from Apple’s next iPhone.
As of now, it looks like the next iPhone could change the way we listen to music, and we might see a brand new kind of material for its looks and feel.
Check out the latest we’ve heard on the internet streets about the “iPhone 7″:
4K and 5K Display Buyer's Guide for Macs - Mac Rumors
4K displays are becoming increasingly popular as they come down in prices, and even some 5K displays have been released over the past year, but there are lots of variables to consider before purchasing one for your Mac. This buyer’s guide will help you determine the ideal 4K or 5K display for your MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro or Mac mini, based on compatibility, price, display technologies and more.
Choosing a Resolution: Ultra HD vs. 4K vs. 5K
The resolution of a display is simply the number of pixels on a screen based on its width and height. The term 1080p, for example, refers to a 1,920×1,080 display, which translates to 1,920 pixels along the horizontal axis and 1,080 pixels along the vertical axis. Just like TVs, higher resolution displays have sharper, crisper images.
Displays continue to advance at a quick pace; currently, the most common resolutions are between 1,920×1,080 and 2,880×1,800. 4K and 5K displays take a big step beyond that, packing millions more pixels than lower-resolution displays of the same size. Apple coined the marketing term “Retina displays” to describe these ultra-high resolutions.
A true 4K display has a resolution of 4,096×2,160 pixels, but most 4K displays you will find are actually “Ultra HD” displays with slightly lower 3,840×2,160 resolutions — sometimes called 2160p. 5K displays have a resolution of 5,120×2,880 pixels, or about seven times the pixel density of a 1,920×1,080 display.
- Ultra HD: 3,840×2,160 pixels
- 4K: 4,096×2,160 pixels
- 5K: 5,120×2,880 pixels
Bottom Line: Purchase an Ultra HD 4K (3,840×2,160) display if you want the widest selection and lowest prices. The resolution is still considered 4K-class and will be a significant step up from 1080p or 2K monitors.
Choosing a Port: Thunderbolt vs. HDMI
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt ports on your 2011 or later Mac support Mini DisplayPort, a common technology for connecting external displays.
Many external displays have Mini DisplayPort, meaning all you need to do is connect a Thunderbolt cable between your Mac and the monitor. Some displays, however, have full-size DisplayPort ports that require a DisplayPort-to-Mini DisplayPort (mDP) cable — sold on Amazon for under $ 10.
Most early 2011 to mid 2013 Macs use first-generation Thunderbolt, which supports DisplayPort 1.1a for a max video throughput of 8.64 Gbps. Simply put, virtually all pre-mid-2013 Macs are not powerful enough for 4K or 5K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate.
- What is a refresh rate? A display’s refresh rate is the number of times per second it can redraw the entire screen, which essentially determines the display’s max frames per second (FPS). A refresh rate is typically measured in Hertz (Hz), with three common frequencies: 60Hz, 30Hz and 24Hz.
Ideally, if you are purchasing a 4K or 5K display, you will want to ensure that you have a Mac capable of driving the monitor at 60Hz — find your model at the end of this guide. Running an external display at 30Hz or 24Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI can result in mouse lag and choppy performance.
Macs with Thunderbolt can support a refresh rate up to 60Hz, while HDMI can support 24Hz or 30Hz due to bandwidth limitations of the HDMI 1.4 spec. Apple has yet to release Macs with HDMI 2.0, which can drive 4K and 5K displays at up to 60Hz. More details about HDMI can be found below.
In 2013, Apple adopted Thunderbolt 2, which supports DisplayPort 1.2 for a doubled max video throughput of 17.28 Gbps — more bandwidth to push all those millions of extra pixels on 4K or 5K displays.
Macs refreshed in Late 2013 or later have Thunderbolt 2 ports, allowing for one 4K display at up to 60Hz, or in some cases multiple ones with a powerful enough graphics card. Macs with Thunderbolt 2 ports include the following models:
- MacBook Pro (Retina, Late 2013 and later)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014 and later)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (27-inch, Late 2013 and later)
- iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- Mac mini (Late 2014)
- MacBook Air (Early 2015)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
In June 2015, Intel announced Thunderbolt 3 with a USB Type-C connector, instead of Mini DisplayPort, and an increased 40 Gbps throughput across two channels. Thunderbolt 3 continues to be based on DisplayPort 1.2. Apple will likely release the first Skylake Macs with Thunderbolt 3 later in 2016, and those models will be able to drive up to three 4K displays at 60Hz or one 5K display at 60Hz.
For those wondering, Apple could release a 5K Thunderbolt Display alongside Skylake Macs, but it may choose to wait until Intel’s processor lineup supports DisplayPort 1.3. Macs with DisplayPort 1.3, which may not launch until at least late 2016, will be able to drive a 5K display over Single-Stream Transport (SST), eliminating the need for Apple to worry about syncing two channels over Multi-Stream Transport (MST).
- What is SST and MST? In order to achieve 4K resolution at 60Hz, most early 4K displays on the market used Multi-Stream Transport (MST), a technology that stitches two halves of a display together into one large surface — also called a “tile” — in software. MST, supported on Thunderbolt 2 Macs, can carry a signal for two or more monitors on a single cable, allowing for daisy chaining or hub configurations of multiple 4K monitors.
More recent 4K displays have started using Single-Stream Transport (SST), eliminating the need for stitching two halves of a display together in software. Instead, SST monitors feature scalers that support 4K resolution at 60 Hz over a single tile. Ideally, if you are purchasing a 4K display, you should look for one that supports SST, since MST can cause issues with in-game menus, BIOS screens and scaling.
- What is daisy-chaining? Thunderbolt 2 Macs can daisy-chain multiple 4K displays using one Thunderbolt cable between each, as long as they have both a DisplayPort input and a DisplayPort output. Both the Mac and all displays in the chain must support DisplayPort 1.2, except for the last display which can be DisplayPort 1.1.
In the image to the top right from StarTech, for example, Screen A, B and C are connected using a single DisplayPort cable between each. Screen A is then connected to the Mac, which recognizes the three as separate displays. The capabilities of the Mac’s video card determines how long the daisy chain can be.
HDMI
- MacBook Pro (Late 2013 and later)
- iMac (27-inch, Late 2013 and later)
- Mac mini (Late 2014)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
The latest Macs have HDMI 1.4, which can only drive one Ultra HD display at 30 Hz or one 4K display at 24 Hz with no mirroring. Apple has not released any Macs with HDMI 2.0, which can drive a 4K display at 60Hz.
Bottom Line: Thunderbolt is better than HDMI because it can drive 4K and 5K displays at up to 60Hz, whereas HDMI is limited to 30Hz or 24Hz on current Macs. Thunderbolt is also compatible with DVI, HDMI and VGA monitors using Mini DisplayPort adapters, whereas HDMI only works with DVI.
Choosing a Display
- ASUS PQ321Q: 31.5″ LED-lit Ultra HD IGZO display with 3,840×2,160 resolution at up to 60Hz. Includes 1 DisplayPort 1.2 port and dual HDMI ports. Not stocked directly on Amazon, but still available from some resellers like B&H for $ 1,223.99.
- Dell P2415Q: 24″ LED-lit Ultra HD IPS display with 3,840×2,160 resolution at up to 60Hz. Includes 1 DisplayPort 1.2 input, 1 DisplayPort output, 1 Mini DisplayPort and 1 HDMI port. DisplayPort-to-Mini DisplayPort cable included in the box. Supports SST in landscape or portrait viewing mode. $ 417 on Amazon.
- Dell P2715Q: 27″ LED-lit Ultra HD IPS display with 3,840×2,160 resolution at up to 60Hz. Includes 1 DisplayPort 1.2 input, 1 DisplayPort output, 1 Mini DisplayPort and 1 HDMI port. DisplayPort-to-Mini DisplayPort cable included in the box. Supports SST in landscape or portrait viewing mode. $ 544 on Amazon.
- Dell UP2715K: 27″ LED-lit IPS 5K display with 5,120×2,880 resolution at up to 60Hz. Includes 2 DisplayPort 1.2 ports and 1 Mini DisplayPort. 2 DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort, 2 DisplayPort-to-Mini DisplayPort and 1 Mini DisplayPort-to-Mini DisplayPort cables included in the box. Supports MST in landscape or portrait viewing mode. $ 1,649 on Amazon.
- Sharp PN-K321: 31.5″ Ultra HD IGZO display with 3,840×2,160 resolution at up to 60Hz. Includes 1 DisplayPort 1.2 port and 2 HDMI ports. DisplayPort cable included in the box. Supports SST and MST in landscape or portrait viewing mode. Sharp appears to have discontinued this model, but its MSRP was around $ 3,100 and it remains available through some resellers for upwards of $ 4,000.
Bottom Line: Dell’s 24-inch P2415Q or 27-inch P2715Q have received favorable reviews, and they are among the best 4K displays based on price and quality. Both displays have up to a 60Hz refresh rate, support both SST and MST and include the necessary DisplayPort cables in the box.
OS X 10.9.3 or later is required. OS X 10.10.3 or later is recommended for full 4K support.
Supported Macs
MacBook Pro
15″ Mid 2014 or Later: This model can drive up to two 4K displays at 60Hz with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M. The Mid 2015 15″ MacBook Pro with AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics can also drive one 5K display connected with two Thunderbolt cables.
15″ Late 2013: This model is equipped with two Thunderbolt 2 ports that can drive one 4K display at 60Hz or two 4K displays at 30Hz. This model also supports one 4K display at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one 4K display at 30Hz over HDMI.
15″ Mid 2012 and Early 2013: These models with dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics can allegedly drive one 4K display at 30Hz with some tweaks.
MacBook Air
Early 2014 and older MacBook Air models have older Thunderbolt 1 and DisplayPort 1.1 specs, and outdated Haswell processors with Intel HD Graphics that are unable to drive 4K displays, although there appear to be some partial solutions in our discussion forums that we have not independently confirmed.
12-inch MacBook
The 12-inch MacBook has no built-in Thunderbolt or HDMI ports, and the USB-C port does not supply enough bandwidth to drive a 4K display at 60Hz. Even if 4K at 60Hz was possible, it is unlikely the notebook’s Intel Core M mobile processor would be able to efficiently power millions of additional pixels.
iMac
27″ Late 2015 Retina 5K: This model can drive one 4K display at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one additional 2,560×1,440 display, and with optional AMD Radeon R9 M395X graphics, it can also drive up to two 4K displays at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt. This model can also drive one 5K display when connected with two Thunderbolt cables.
27″ Late 2014 Retina 5K: This model can drive one 4K display at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one additional 2,560×1,440 display. This model can also drive one 5K display with two Thunderbolt cables.
Mac Pro
Early 2009 to Mid 2012: These models are not equipped with Thunderbolt 2 controllers to drive Ultra HD displays, but the original Mac Pro can be upgraded with an appropriate graphics card, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, which has three DisplayPort 1.2 ports for connecting multiple 4K displays. Mid 2006 and Early 2008 Mac Pros may also be upgradeable, but performance could be limited due to old hardware.
Late 2009 Mac Pro with upgraded NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 running dual 4K displays
Mac mini
Late 2012 and earlier Mac minis do not support 4K displays.
Choosing to Buy Now or Later
Those are the high performance thresholds that Mac users have patiently been waiting for since 4K and 5K displays reached the market three or four years ago. Plus, in the meantime, new displays could launch at lower price points.
Many have been asking about Apple’s own entry into the 5K display market, but due to the bandwidth limitations of current Macs, Apple may not release a standalone 5K display until late 2016, if ever. Even then, you would likely need the latest Macs to power such a screen.
If you do not plan on upgrading your Mac in the foreseeable future, and are okay with using one 4K display with most models, find yours in the supported Macs list above. If you do buy a 4K display now, and eventually upgrade to a Skylake Mac, it will still be compatible. Just remember that a 60Hz refresh rate, SST and DisplayPort 1.2 are highly recommended specs.
Tags: DisplayPort, 4K displays, 60Hz, 5k displays, Ultra HD, Thunderbolt, HDMI
Buyer’s Guide:
mac – Google News
Thursday, January 14, 2016
MAC Just Launched Its First Contouring Palette, And It's Game-Changing - Allure Magazine (blog)
M.A.C. has some of the best bronzers, highlighters, and blushes out there. You already know this. But did you know that, until now, you’d have to buy all of those individually, rather than being able to get them all nestled together in one convenient palette? Well, no longer: M.A.C. has just released what seems to be the company’s first contouring palette, and it’s freaking awesome.
It’s called the M.A.C. Contour & Sculpt Yourself Palette, and it houses blushes as well as the company’s Sculpting and Shaping powders. There are a total of six powders: the shaping powder in Emphasize, the sculpting powder in Sculpt, and four blushes. Two of the blushes, Trace Gold and Sunbasque, are gold-tinged highlighters, and the other two blushes, Peaches and Fleur Power, are pale pinks.
In addition to being a logical and convenient way to package some of the company’s most beloved products, it’s also smart from a budget perspective. It will retail for $ 60, and when you consider that separately buying all of those products would cost $ 112, it’s a total steal. And while it’s reminiscent of the new Anastasia Contouring Palette (plus it’s $ 20 more), what sets it apart is that it includes a wide range of blushes that can be used for highlighting and, well, blusing. Oh, and you can only snatch this palette online, so don’t go roaming around your local M.A.C. counter looking for it.
PHOTO: Courtesy of M.A.C.
For more on our favorite makeup products, watch:
iPhone 7: better speakers are on the way - The Week UK
A recent patent filed by Apple suggests the iPhone 7 could be coming with a new speaker set-up similar to the one used on the recently released iPad Pro.
The patent, reported on 9 to 5 Mac, which calls it “densely worded”, describes a system optimised for thin devices, giving better quality and louder audio output.
”There is a need for improved approaches to provide high-quality audio sound output,” it reads, adding that this should not hinder “the ability to make portable electronic devices smaller and thinner”.
Apple describes its method for doing this as thus: “An audio chamber can be formed to assist in directing audio sound between an opening an outer housing and a flexible electronic substrate to which the audio element is mounted or coupled thereto.”
Cutting through the jargon, this points to “chambers built into the handset to improve and amplify its sound”, says Alphr. They add that this technique has already been used on the iPad Pro.
Using the internal space as an audio chamber to aid volume would effectively mean the components inside the iPhone, such as the circuit board, will become a part of the speaker system, continues Gizmodo. The increased amount of air that would pass through the system would theoretically amplify audio output.
There’s no reference to any particular device in the patent but iDigitaltimes says many assume it is intended for the iPhone 7.
Rumours back in September suggested the tech giant is aiming to slim the iPhone 7 down to a thickness of just 6mm, after a note to investors from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was obtained by AppleInsider.
The new patent specifically makes reference to slimmer devices and Apple’s relentless pursuit of ever-thinner iPhones may even result in the headphone jack being removed from the next handset in favour of using the Lightning port to dock headphones.
New: try our free iPhone app, The WeekDay, for all the news that matters and nothing more. Click here for twice-daily digests distilled from the best of the British and international media
iPhone 7: did CES reveal Apple will remove the headphone jack?
12 January
Rumours that Apple is to remove the headphone jack from its iPhone 7 have been filling the internet for several months now, yet the people with most to fear – headphone-makers themselves – seem remarkably unconcerned.
Reports of the controversial move, which would mean customers having to use either Lightning-compatible or wireless headsets, began last November and have tended to come from reputable sources: either in the form of trusted and established leakers on regarded Apple fansites or people described as being close to the company themselves.
Going one step further, The Verge decided to investigate the claims by visiting various headphone-makers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week to gauge their feelings towards any possible change.
In comparison to the outrage the whispers have sparked among some Apple consumers, the manufacturers “don’t seem to be particularly perturbed” by the rumours, they say.
The reasons for this are said to be twofold: first, headphone-makers could be keen to sell more Bluetooth sets and the introduction of an iPhone with no headphone jack would provide a catalyst for sales; second, The Verge reports that most of the manufacturers were in the process of developing – or thinking about developing – Lightning-port headphones.
From a manufacturing point of view, Apple’s reported plan does not seem too disturbing for the headphone-makers – and could even be beneficial for some. Their non-confrontational stance suggests the tech giant has cleared one hurdle if it wishes to render the jack obsolete.
As for the rumours themselves, the latest leak – reported on Fast Company and said as being from a “source with knowledge of the company” – again asserts the jack will be no more. The source adds further information, though – the iPhone 7 could use noise-cancelling technology, wireless-charging and be waterproof.
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iPhone 7: first look at the iPhone 7 as picture ‘leaks’
11 January
Your first look at the iPhone 7 has allegedly landed. Taiwanese website Apple Club has posted pictures of what appears to be the backlight assembly for the next iPhone, due to be revealed in September. The pictures were posted on the social networking app WeChat.
The legitimacy of the images has not been confirmed, but Macrumours highlights how Apple Club has released spy shots of Apple products and components before, such as the protruding camera lens on the iPhone 6 as well as shots of iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 internals prior to their respective releases.
The leaked component bears resemblance to the backlight assembly currently used on the iPhone 6, but with the 3D touch chip and flex cables relocated. A small Apple logo can be seen in the hinge where the larger flex cable bends.
While the pictures have unleashed a frenzy of speculation among Apple fans, many publications are not terribly interested in the alleged leak.
“The photos don't really tell us anything useful unless the position of ribbon cables is of deep personal interest to you”, says 9to5 Mac. However, the website does add that we can expect to see a growing number of photos and leaks throughout the year in the build-up to the iPhone 7′s reveal.
Back at Macrumours, the website reports how the original leak suggests the component could be used on Apple’s next 4-inch smartphone, likely to launch earlier than the iPhone 7 and to be called the iPhone 6C. However, they say that the size of the 3D touch chip and flex cables suggest that the leaked backlight assembly is for a larger phone.
Appleinsider says that the relocated 3D touch chip might not necessarily point towards a new and updated version of the feature on the next iPhone. The site points out that Apple is indeed likely developing new versions of 3D touch, especially for the iPad, but that the technology is “one of the most severe production bottlenecks in iPhone 6s supply chain” according to an analyst, and any new versions will come after the iPhone 7.
Not much beyond this can be gathered from the leak, but the Daily Mirror asserts that the pictures confirm that the iPhone 7 will ship without a headphone jack.
Rumours that Apple will do away with the industry standard jack in favour of using the Lightning port to attach headphones have been swirling for some weeks, and fresh leaks hinting that this could be the case continue to surface as we get closer to the reveal of the next Apple handset.
Business title Fast Company recently fanned the flames by publishing a story detailing yet another leak from “a source with knowledge of the company’s plans” suggesting that the iPhone 7 will not ship with an industry standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The company has allegedly linked up with Cirrus Logic to develop the audio chip that will mate audio connections to the Lightning port, the source tells them.
The article also suggests that the iPhone 7 will feature noise-cancelling technology.
However, it also suggests that Apple may couple the controversial move to Lightning port headphones with a decision no longer to include a pair of them in the iPhone 7 box. The company may look to sell a premium pair of headphones separately instead of bundling a standardised set of them with a new phone as they have done in the past. The company may instead opt to include a Lightning port to 3.5mm headphone jack adaptor in the box. The rumour has been met with suspicion by Forbes, which says that such a move “would make little business sense and just encourage owners to use the adaptor and stick with what they have.”
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iPhone 7: thousands protest at ‘demise of headphone jack’
07 January
An online petition criticising rumours that Apple will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 in favour of the Lightning port or Bluetooth headphones has been gathering pace.
The petition claims that “Apple is about to rip off every one of its customers. Again” and criticises the company for “forcing” iPhone users to spend extra money on a new set of headphones, as well as highlighting past Apple products which have made things like chargers obsolete.
So far the petition is based on no more than rumours, with no concrete evidence to suggest that Apple will remove the headphone jack from the next iPhone. However, a series of leaks suggest that the 3.5mm port’s days could be numbered.
Forbes reports that a pair of sources within Apple’s Chinese supply chain have confirmed that the iPhone 7 will not come with a headphone jack, and also that Apple is interested in adding support for super-high resolution audio output on the smartphone, which would require the use of lightning port headphones.
Losing the headphone jack would also allow Apple to make the iPhone 7 even thinner than the iPhone 6 models, as well as open up more space inside for a larger battery. It may even open up a desire to create ‘smart headphones’, integrated deeper into the user experience.
However, despite the potential pros of removing the headphone jack, the big con of rendering millions of pairs of headphones obsolete remains controversial.
The leak which reignited the iPhone headphone jack rumour mill was originally reported on Monday by Macrumours. Two Chinese websites, Anzhuo.cn and Wei Fang, have both said that information they have gleaned from the supply chain suggests that the rumour is true.
iPhone 7: 2016 handset ‘will have longer battery life’
05 January
The iPhone 7 Plus may come with a larger, 3,100mAh battery, a new rumour suggests. The bigger battery will give users more time between charges – if they buy the ‘Plus’ version of the smartphone.
The claim comes from Chinese site My Drivers. Tech news website Techno Buffalo has seen a translation of its story and says the news is alleged to come from “sources in Apple’s supply chain”.
When they are released later this year, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be available in the same 4.7- and 5.5-inch sizes as the 6 and 6s phones, say the sources – but the phones will be very different internally.
As well as the supposed larger battery, My Drivers says the iPhone 7 Plus will be available with 256GB of memory.
This will be music to the ears of some of Apple’s critics who are frustrated by the tech giant’s insistence on offering phones with a meagre 16GB to keep the cost of the handsets low. At the top of the range, 128GB phones are available – but nothing larger.
Apple Insider, however, is not convinced by this second rumour, saying the details sound “implausible”. The site thinks it’s unlikely that Apple would offer different capacity on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
“Apple launched iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 2014 with virtually identical specs,” says Apple Insider. The same was true of the 6s and 6s Plus. In both releases, the phones were positioned as “two essentially equal models” of different sizes.
To offer more storage only on the Plus might be “out of line with previous generations” – but the site also notes that the iPhone 6 Plus has a larger battery than the standard model was able to accommodate.
Alphr notes that the rumours suggesting a 12.7 per cent increase in the iPhone’s battery capacity might not necessarily translate into a large increase in battery life.
On the one hand, increases in processor efficiency and a decrease in the energy requirements of the new operating system could give the iPhone 7 an even larger power boost, but it is also possible that the new components and internals on the next Apple handset could be more power hungry, and battery life could stay the same or even diminish.
The website is also not convinced by the legitimacy of My Drivers, the site responsible for the leak, saying it “doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to rumours.”
What a larger battery means in terms of the design of the next iPhone is unclear. Rumours suggest that the iPhone 7 will be even thinner than the 6 models, and Apple traditionally makes new versions of their products slimmer over increasing their size to house larger batteries.
Whether this means Apple can squeeze a bigger battery into a slimmer case or not remains to be seen, though some publications, such as The Independent, believe this means the upcoming iPhone “would be likely to expand.”
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iPhone 7: 6s vs 6 vs 5S – should you buy one this Christmas or wait for the 7?
24 December
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 shoppers will have to opt for come January sales, and 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 before 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, while 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 are larger at 5.5-inches.
The 5S uses an aluminium chassis, 7.6mm thick and with a chamfered edge. It’s also two tone, with 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. 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: Display
The most obvious and striking difference when comparing the display is the actual screen sizes. 4-inches for the 5S, 4.7-inches on smaller 6 models, and the phablet sized 5.5-inch display used on the Plus models.
These size difference mean different resolutions. The 5S has a 1136×640-pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch. The standard sized 6 models also have 326ppi displays, but the larger screen means a resolution of 1334×750. The 6 Plus handsets up the ppi to 401, mated to a screen resolution of 1920×1080.
The 5S comes with a standard retina display, whereas 6 models come with Retina HD. 6S phones add unique 3D touch capabilities.
The displays used on iPhones do have their critics. Forbes says that the way the display on the 6S actually looks is not “particularly revolutionary to what has come before.”
The technology used in Apple’s LCD screens is behind many of the phone’s key rivals that use 2K screens, and even some smartphones now available with 4K displays.
The usage of LCD displays on the iPhone is set to continue until 2018, according to rumours. By then, Apple is likely to switch to using AMOLED displays for greater contrast and deeper blacks. Recently, it was reported that Apple has a secret development laboratory in Taiwan dedicated to bringing new displays to Apple products.
If a display that’s the pinnacle of smartphone technology is small beer to you, the minor differences in quality offered by the various iPhones are unlikely to be a decisive factor. However, if it is important, other smartphones such as one from Samsung’s Galaxy range may be worth a look in.
The new Samsung Galaxy S7 is likely to launch early in 2016, months before the new iPhone. The spring launch date removes the possibility of getting one in the sales, but the handset is rumoured to be priced 10 per cent cheaper than its predecessor anyway.
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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 a 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, with the megapixel count 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’ that 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 one that’s less refined. According to Know Your Mobile, focusing 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’s slow motion function.
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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.
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iPhone 6S vs 6 vs 5S: Price
As the cheapest handset, the iPhone 5S 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 price tag for the 6 Plus is the same price as the standard 6S model, and the range-topping 6S plus is priced at £619.
With January around the corner though, expect prices to tumble on all handsets. It could be a great excuse to splash out and go for one of the range topping handsets.
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 release of the iPhone 7 next year in September 2016.
Criminals really are using iPods to steal bank cards - Geek
The humble iPod nano isn't as popular with the general public as is once was, but there's one group still finding new uses for it: criminals. They're using them to steal people's PINs.
An iPod nano might seem like a ridiculous way to do it, but it's actually an ideal device for capturing button presses. It's got a decent camera and its battery can keep it powered for two to three weeks depending on usage. It's also very slim, which makes it easy for a criminal to hide one above an ATM keypad. Slap a piece of plastic that matches the fascia of the ATM, and most users will never notice it's there.
Fortunately, some folks are starting to check for signs of tampering before they use bank machines. A British woman who stopped to use a Barclay's ATM in Radcliffe noticed something that look out of place on the machine. She grabbed a loose section of plastic and gave it a tug and discovered a modded iPod nano affixed to it. She immediately turned it in to the local police, who urge the public to follow her lead. There's been a rash of iPod scamming going on in the Manchester area in recent months.
The big problem is that not all point-of-sale equipment and ATMs support chip technology yet. So even though it's right there on your card, a lot of machines just ignore it — making skimmer that steal stripe data and iPods that capture PIN entry a workable system for creating duplicate cards and making fraudulent purchases and withdrawals.
Image courtesy Manchester Evening News