Apple Inc is on target to introduce its next iPhone and iPad models on March 15, and aims to start selling the devices in the same week, technology blog 9to5Mac reported, citing sources.

Apple, which will introduce a new 4-inch iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone 5se", and a new iPad Air at a launch event, is unlikely to take pre-orders for the new devices, the blog reported.

The technology giant has hit a trough in iPhone demand. The 0.4 percent rise in shipments in the fiscal first quarter was the slowest-ever increase in iPhone sales since the phone was launched in 2007.

The new 4-inch iPhone 5se is designed to spur iPhone hardware upgrades for customer seeking faster devices without upgrading to the far larger iPhone 6s and 6s Plus screen sizes.

Apple could not be immediately reached for comment.

Via - Reuter

Apple's next iPhone will come in the same four colours — despite rumours that the company might opt for a bright colour scheme. Some reports had suggested that the phone might come in a bright pink, but it is likely to have the same four options as the iPhone 6s, according to reports.

The company will release the phone in the new Rose Gold — which was unveiled with the iPhone 6s in September — as well as silver, Space Gray and gold.

Otherwise, the phone is rumoured to look something like a cross between an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 6. It will keep the former's smaller size, but add many of the internal parts of an iPhone 6 or 6s as well as getting some of their rounded edges. The new handset is scheduled to be unveiled on March 15, according to numerous reports. The phone will probably come out a couple of weeks after that.

Some rumours had suggested that Apple might release the phone in a bright pink, not the rose gold that first appeared with the iPhone 6s. That would have been in line with Apple's previous cheaper iPhone, the 5c, which came in a plastic case sporting a range of different colours.

But the new phone will instead come in Rose Gold, according to a report from the usually reliable 9to5mac. The company wants to ensure that the colour schemes are consistent across its iOS devices — and the Rose Gold may even come to the new iPad and MacBooks, the site reported.

The new iPad, the Air 3, could be revealed at the same March event as the new iPhone, according to reports. That will be around the same size as the existing tablet, but will include new connectors for accessories, a rear-facing LED flash like on the iPhone, and new speakers to bring it in line with the wide and loud sound from the iPad Pro.

The company is also expected to release new Apple Watch accessories, including new straps, and updates to the operating system at the event. But it won't see a full redesign of the Watch itself, which is thought to be coming in September — probably at the same time as the iPhone 7 is released.

Via - TOI

Apple is gearing up to launch a pair of new retail initiatives centered around the iPhone: an upgraded iPhone trade-in program for iPhones with damaged screens, cameras, or buttons, and a new program that allows Apple Retail Stores to install screen protectors on iPhones.

The Apple Store Reuse and Recycle iPhone trade-in program currently allows a customer to bring in an older iPhone model and trade it in for credit toward the purchase of a new iPhone model. The main exception since the launch of the program is that this does not apply toward older iPhones with cracked displays, or broken cameras and buttons. That’s about to change …


Starting this week, the updated program will allow Apple Stores to give credit for iPhone 5s and iPhone 6/6 Plus units with damaged displays, cameras, and buttons within reason. Apple believes that this new program will encourage new iPhone upgrades versus a standard iPhone screen repair.

In some cases, buying a new iPhone could be cheaper when combining subsidies and financing plans with the credit given for the traded-in device. This makes the new program beneficial to both Apple and customers as it will help Apple sell new phones and let customers save more money on an updated device.

Sources say that the current trade-in values for this program are: $50 for a 5s, $200 for a 6, and $250 for a 6 Plus.

Also involving iPhone displays, all Apple Stores will start offering official plastic screen protector installations on iPhones in the coming weeks. The program began rolling out in select stores today.

Apple has partnered with at least one screen protector maker (Belkin) to bring dedicated screen protector installation machines to the back of stores. Before this new program, Apple Stores were told to not perform screen protector installations on customer iPhones given the possibility of the installation of a third-party product not going smoothly.

If the installation via the new machine results in an error, Apple will offer a free screen protector replacement and re-attempt the installation. Above is a video demonstration of a Belkin screen protector machine that is similar to the ones that Apple will begin putting in its retail stores.

Via - 9to5Mac

MyDrivers has posted some new details about Apple's much rumored 4-inch iPhone. The site claims that contrary to some reports, the 4-inch iPhone will resemble the iPhone 5s and be called the iPhone 5SE.

Foxconn insiders have allegedly revealed that the device will feature an A9 processor, 1GB to 1.2GB of RAM, a 1624mAh battery, NFC, VoLTE, 16GB and 64GB of storage, and start at 3,688 yuan ($560). Production of the device is said to have already started ahead of a possible March unveiling.

9to5Mac has also heard that the device will be called the iPhone 5 SE and has added some specifications to the list:
● Curved glass like on the iPhone 6 and 6s lines
● 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.2 megapixel front camera from the iPhone 6
● Support for larger panoramas and autofocus for video recording
● Barometer for tracking elevation in the Health app
● The A8 and M8 chips from the iPhone 6 (Note: this differs from MyDrivers)
● Bluetooth 4.2, VoLTE, and 802.11ac WiFi chips from the iPhone 6s
● Live Photos from the iPhone 6s

It's expected that Apple will discontinue the iPhone 5s and replace it with the iPhone 5SE.


Via - iClarified

Apple Inc has applied to set up its own stores in India, one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets, as the iPhone-maker looks to tap new opportunities amid worries of slowing growth in its main markets.

Apple sells its iPhones, iPads and Macs in India through third party resellers, and industry analysts estimate that the Cupertino, California-based company has less than a 2 percent share in India's smartphone market, dominated by cheaper brands.

The company has filed an application with India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to open its own stores, Amitabh Kant, secretary at the federal trade ministry unit told Reuters.

Apple also confirmed the application filing, but declined to give details.

Its expansion plans in India come at a time when concerns about slowing growth in the United States and China, the world's most important market for smartphones, have weighed on the company's stock in the last few months.

Shares in Apple, the world's most valuable company by market value, are down 28 percent from their peak in April last year.

The company operates more than 450 stores in 18 countries. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told Reuters in October that Apple had 25 stores in China and was opening a new one roughly every month.

Its plans for India have been held back due to restrictions on foreign investment in the retail industry, which require single brand overseas retailers to buy close to a third of the goods sold at their stores from local producers.

Apple representatives held talks with Indian government officials about a relaxation of the 30 percent local-sourcing norms before filing the application, said a source familiar with the company's plans.

Apple's plans come against the backdrop of initiatives unveiled by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met with Apple chief Tim Cook during his U.S. visit last year, to boost foreign investments in India.

In November, the government eased foreign investment norms in 15 major sectors, including relaxing the mandatory local-sourcing rule for foreign single-brand retailers in the case of "cutting-edge technology" products.

Kant said his department would examine Apple's application in view of the changes made for local sourcing.

For years, India has been a low priority market for Apple as spending power is weaker than in China, where the company's iPhones swiftly became must-have devices after their 2007 launch.

But Apple is now looking to boost its market share in India's rapidly growing market, and the company's recent growing spend on advertising in the country has indicated an aggressive campaign to sell more.

India is likely to overtake the United States to become the world's No. 2 smartphone market in 2017, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. The local smartphone segment is dominated by Samsung Electronics and India's Micromax.

Via - Reuter

Apple has confirmed that there is an issue with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus that could prevent the battery percentage from updating.

The issue affects those who have changed the time on their device manually or change time zones when traveling.

If you change the time on your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus manually or change time zones when traveling, you might notice that the battery percentage doesn't update.

The company suggests following the steps as a way to address the issue:
● Restart your iPhone.
● Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and make sure that Set Automatically is turned on.

Apple says it's investigating the cause and a solution. Let us know in the comments if you've noticed a problem with your battery percentage indicator.

Via - iClarified 

Apple is commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on its homepage. The company has removed all of its featured products and posted a large image of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a quote that reads...

"Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has frequently quoted King as a source of inspiration and motivation. For example in his commencement speech to George Washington University graduates, Cook cited King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" which encourages people to get off the "sidelines" and solve problems, end injustices, stop persecution, and cure diseases.

Via - iClarified

Far from science fiction, the ability to seemingly control things with your hands is no longer the fantasy that stories like Star Wars once imagined, thanks to a research team in Taiwan that has created technology akin to using The Force.

The Taiwanese technology researchers at PVD+ have written an algorithm for the Apple Watch that renders it a remote controller that can pilot drones and manipulate lights using hand gestures.

PVD+, founded in 2013 and led by Mark Ven, a civil engineering PHD student at the National Chung Hsing University along with a professor there, Yang Ming-der, and three other group members, calls the software Dong coding.

After 18 months of research and application, the PVD+ team now say they can install the algorithm on any device and give it the ability to control directions.

Demonstrating outside the Park Lane Department Store on Gongyi Road in Taichung City, Ven showed how simple gesticulations using his hand could fly his Parrot AR Drone 3.0, with the Apple Watch interpreting what he was doing and sending corresponding signals to the drone.

"Previously we've needed complicated controls to fly drones, but now we can use a wearable device, and through human behavior and gestures directly interact with them - using a hand to control and fly drones directly," he told Reuters.

"We can also control a ball, like that in Star Wars' BB-8 droid, using a wearable device as well," he said, referring to his Sphere 2.0 drone that resembles the BB-8 droid from the latest Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, directed by JJ Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley and Harrison Ford.

"We used to play with drones using controllers, but now we could control them with our hands. It's something I'd love to buy after seeing it here," said Wang Si-kai, a student from Hsiuping University of Science and Technology watching the demonstration.

The technology is still in its nascent stages - easily affected by wind and other environmental factors, while batteries can be exhausted in as little as 20 minutes.

"The drone's performance was great, although the environment provided a bit of a challenge - the airflow made it harder to control. I think we could consider it good if we exclude the environmental factors," said another Hsiuping University student, Wu Jia-hsin.

In addition to flying and driving drones, Ven and his team have adapted the Dong coding to manipulate lighting - not just turning lights on and off, but even changing colors by writing letters.

"When I clap twice the light turns on, as it detects that I'm clapping. When I write an English 'R' in the air the red light turns on, and when I write an English 'Y' the yellow light turns on. Lastly, when I clap twice the light turns off," Ven said.

"During this process we are communicating and interacting on the Human Computer Interface by using the internet of things, and the wearable device," he added.

Drone gesture controls have been under development for the last few years among various teams across the world, including Thalmic Lab's Myo armband which measures electrical activity in muscles rather than the physical movements.

The PVD+ team is currently in the process of applying to Taiwan's Li & Cai Intellectual Property Office for a patent for its Dong software.

Apple has finally launched the iPad Pro, its biggest iPad in India. The device is now available via all company retail stores. The iPad Pro (Wi-Fi-only) 32GB storage variant has been priced at Rs 67,900 while the 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 79,900. However, the 128GB storage variant with 4G LTE connectivity is priced at Rs 91,900 respectively. Apple Pencil is priced at Rs 8,600 in India while the Apple Smart Keyboard is priced at Rs 14,900.

The iPad Pro with 12.9-inch 2732 x 2048 pixel Retina Display is just 6.9mm thick and weighs 713 grams. On the inside, the iPad Pro sports the Apple A9X chipset which Phil Schiller had said offers better performance than 80 percent of portable laptops out there. According to Apple, the A9X offers desktop-grade CPU and console-grade GPU. It promises a 10-hour battery life as well. More importantly, the iPad Pro is the only iOS device to support data transfers at USB 3.0 speeds with the new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader as well.

To complement the iPad Pro, Apple has finally made a stylus called the Apple Pencil. This white coloured pressure sensitive stylus that it launched at $99 and is aimed more at the creative professionals who want to get precise and accurate output for their ideas. The other additional accessory is the Smart Keyboard which can fold up to become the iPad Pro cover. You can orient the keyboard to be used for typing, for watching content on the display and covering the iPad Pro. This is also sold separately.

Indeed Apple is early with its iPad Pro hybrid tablet offering, since Microsoft is expected to announce its Surface Pro 4 in India in January 2016. To get a quick idea of what you get with both, you can check out our iPad Pro versus Surface Pro face off.

 Via - Firstpost

Tesla's online accessories store now includes iPhone cases made from recycled leather from Model S car seats. You can buy cases for the 5 and 5S for $40, or for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for $45. The company is also selling iPhone 6/6 Plus leather wallet cases for $50.

The cases costs just as much as Apple's own leather offering — with the added bonus of the feel-good cache of Tesla's recycled leather. The company's logo is embossed on the back of the cases, so you could also use it to fool your more gullible friends into thinking that Tesla makes its own phone. you could also use it to fool your more gullible friends into thinking that Tesla makes its own phone.

The company only offers the 6 and 6 Plus cases in black leather, despite the fact that it uses tan and gray leather in its cars (the cases for the 5 and 5S are indeed offered in all three shades). Perhaps those colors will be offered at a later date for the bigger phones, though black arguably goes best with most iPhones.

Tesla also sells a companion to its iPhone case in the form of leather driving gloves that work with your iPhone's touch screen — along with a host of other recycled leather accessories, including the handsome Moab Weekender bag, which is rather costly at $400.

If you're scoffing at the prices, just turn your attention to some other accessories offered by car companies: A Ferrari-branded surfboard goes for $1,700, and Lamborghini sells a carbon fiber suitcase for $17,388. Yep, you read that right.

Suddenly, $45 for a leather iPhone case seems downright reasonable.

Via - Mashable

Monument Valley is winner of apple design award 2014.  In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world.

Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.

Download  Monument Valley For iOS From The App Store

The iPhone 6s is here and the only thing that’s changed with the new chip is everything.

• Pixelmator –  App $1.99 ($4.99)
• 2Do – App $7.99 ($14.99)
• Infinity Blade – Game free ($5.99)
• Home Design 3D – App $0.99 ($6.99)
• Fantastical 2 for iPhone – App $2.99 ($4.99)
• Hitman Sniper – Game $1.99 ($4.99)
• Screens VNC – App $9.99 ($19.99)
• Dark Echo – Game $0.99 ($1.99)
• Lara Croft GO – Game $2.99 ($4.99)
• Broken Age – Game $2.99 ($9.99)

Mac Apps & Game :

• 2Do – App $24.99 ($49.99)
• Broken Age – Game $7.99 ($24.99)
• Screens VNC – App $14.99 ($29.99)
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Game $9.99 ($19.99)
• Pixelmator – App $14.99 ($29.99)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Game $9.99 ($19.99)
• Hitman: Absolution – Game $9.99 ($9.99)
• Fantastical 2 – App $39.99 ($49.99)
• BioShock Infinite – Game $14.99 ($29.99)

Apple Inc plans to launch its mobile payment system Apple Pay in China by early February, the Wall Street Journal reported. The iPhone maker has struck deals recently with China's big four state-run banks, the newspaper reported late Monday, citing people familiar with the discussions.  When launched, Apple Pay will mainly compete with Alipay, the online payment platform run by Alibaba Holding Group Ltd  affiliate Ant Financial, and UnionPay Co, a state-controlled consortium that has a monopoly on all yuan payment cards issued and used in the country.

Apple's plans could still face regulatory hurdles in China, where banking and e-commerce are overseen by a number of government agencies, WSJ said. "We have nothing to announce at this time," an Apple spokeswoman in China said in an email to Reuters. Launched in the United States in October last year, Apple is bringing its payment service to China, the most important market for smartphones.

The company's sales nearly doubled in Greater China in its fiscal fourth quarter from a year earlier. The amount Apple would make off such transactions has been a sticking point in negotiations to bring Apple Pay to China, the Journal quoted the people as saying. It is also not clear how much Apple would charge for purchases made through Apple Pay in China. The company gets 0.15 percent of all credit card transactions and 0.5 cents per debit transaction in the United States, the paper said. In July, Apple brought its mobile payments service to Britain to capitalize on the increasing mobile online transactions.

Via - Reuter

                                         

Via - TechCrunch

• Toronto 12/7/15
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• Cupertino 12/17/15
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• Berlin 1/8/16
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• Tokyo 1/21/16
• Sydney 2/3/16

Apple has officially released OS X El Capitan for download.

OS X El Capitan, the latest version of the Mac operating system, builds on the groundbreaking features and beautiful design introduced in OS X Yosemite, refining the experience and improving performance in lots of ways that you’ll enjoy everyday.

You can download OS X El Capitan from the App Store for free.

Why Apple introduces the stylus that Steve Jobs hated [Watch]