Meizu looks set to bring its M1 Note to India
Xiaomi may be the poster child of China’s growing smartphone industry, but Meizu has also released some exceptional hardware at competitive price points. The company also looks to have its sights set on India as its next market of interest.
Meizu’s Indian Facebook and Twitter accounts have both posted messages stating that the brand is heading to the country, while simultaneously hinting that the M1 Note will be the company’s first handset to retail in the region.
Greetings to all the #Meizu fans in India. We are coming! Follow us and like us on Facebook: http://t.co/aKfP8T2S7X pic.twitter.com/v2ZlZB20V9
— MEIZU India (@Meizu_India) March 18, 2015
The Meizu M1 Note was announced back in December and is still listed as “coming soon” on Meizu’s international market. The 5.5-inch smartphone comes equipped with a 1080p IGZO display, an octa-core Mediatek MT6752 SoC (8x 1.7GHz Cortex-A53 and a Mali T760 MP2 GPU), 2GB of RAM, a 13 megapixel rear camera, 3,140mAh battery and dual-SIM slots.
The handset is priced at CN¥999 (about $160) for the 16GB model and the 32GB version costs CN¥1,199 (about $190) in China. We are still waiting on an exact retail price for the Indian market.
Xiaomi, OnePlus and Vivo will be going head to head in the country this year and all could be selling products through the popular FlipKart e-commerce site. India has caught the attention of many price competitive smartphone brands lately, due to the growing demand for low-cost hardware with internet capabilities. The staple western-known companies also don’t have a strong foothold in India, leaving opportunities for nimble, smaller brands to establish themselves in a potentially huge and lucrative market.
What we want to see from the next Apple TV
Apple just dropped the price of the Apple TV to $69 and announced an exclusive deal to bring HBO Now to customers just in time for Game of Thrones. But Apple also said that this was just the beginning. We’ve talked a little about the possible future of Apple TV, but it’s a broad topic and that means we need to make the discussion big — iMore roundtable big!
How do you use your current Apple TV?
Peter: I use it mainly to watch content I can’t view on cable, like YouTube videos and Crunchyroll anime. Our family also all uses the Netflix app. The Apple TV is a vital link in my house-wide home audio network, too. I AirPlay music to it from my computer and iOS devices.
Ally: We currently have three Apple TVs in our home: office, bedroom, and living room. We use them constantly, and if some of the deals with networks are true, we’ll most likely cancel cable completely when they’re available. All our movie purchases are made from iTunes, and we watch Netflix and Hulu Plus on almost a nightly basis. I don’t use AirPlay nearly as much as some of my colleagues do, but that’s probably because we use Sonos for music.
Ren: Though I technically have a cable box due to my high-speed internet plan, I watch 99 percent of my television via my Mac or Apple TV. YouTube, Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes, HBO Go, you name it. And we can’t forget AirPlay — AirPlay is the primary reason I own an Apple TV, because it’s incredibly useful for screen mirroring and playing videos that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to stream on my television.
Rene: I use the 1080p Apple TV constantly. I’ve bought and rented a ton of movies. I subscribe to a few shows, like Arrow and Flash on iTunes, I watch a lot of Netflix, which Apple seems to stream better than anyone else. Like Ren, I also use AirPlay. A lot. I stream the Canadian TV channel apps, primarily Global TV — because CTV and CityTV seems to hate AirPlay and the people using it — and I even project games onto the Apple TV to enjoy them on the big screen.
Apple TV accounts for over 90% of my television time.
Did the price drop entice you to buy additional Apple TVs?
Ally: It would have if we didn’t already have three. At this point, I’m going to wait until we see what Apple does next.
Peter: Yep. Added another one this week.
Rene: Same as Peter! I have a TV in my podcast studio and at $69 it was a no-brainer to throw an Apple TV on it for AirPlay and event streaming.
Ren: My apartment is small enough that I don’t need another one, but I’m certainly debating picking up one for my boyfriend: He only has a Chromecast hooked up at the moment, which makes watching iTunes content a tad more difficult than it would be with an Apple TV.
What would you change about the Apple TV interface?
Rene: I know everyone is going to say “SPOTLIGHT!” — and yeah, it’d be nice, but if Apple was allowed by the content companies to do it, the company would have done it years ago. They want it. We want it. The media people preventing it really need to be replaced.
We do need a major makeover, though. The current interface just hasn’t aged or scaled well. Adding Siri, if the content people would allow that, would make things super-fast. Otherwise it’s a hard problem to solve. Tons of different content, and all the restrictions that come from a 10-foot, controller based dynamic. But that’s exactly what we want from Apple — our hard problems solved.
Ally: I don’t necessarily have an issue with the current interface, but it’s become a little heavy, if that makes sense. All these additional channels and lots of menu options make it feel clunky. This is where Siri support would definitely come in handy, or Spotlight, as Rene mentioned.
Peter: Everything. I can’t think of a single thing I actually like about the current Apple TV interface except the fact that it gets the hell out of the way when I stream content to it from other devices.
Ren: I’m with Ally, Peter, and Rene here: The whole interface needs a huge rethink and redesign. I’m including that tiny little silver remote in that redesign, too — it gets lost all the time and the iPhone Remote app isn’t good or fast enough to replace it. (Maybe if the app worked like Handoff and appeared as a swipeable app command anytime you were within Apple TV distance…)
What channels or content are you still missing on your Apple TV?
Ally: I was super happy to hear about the HBO partnership. And if the deal with other major network providers comes through, it’ll solve most of our TV-watching needs. The only thing missing for us is Showtime. We watch a lot of the network’s original series programming, and I’d love to see an a la carte option. I think Apple and the content companies needs to remember these separate options have to be cost effective, however. If HBO and Showtime are both $15 a month and a network bundle comes in at $30-40 (as rumored), we’re already approaching what I pay Comcast for cable — for way more than 30 channels. If I’m not saving money and getting a equal or better value, I’m not interested.
Peter: I’d really love to live in a world where I could get any channels or content on my Apple TV, instead of having to junk my living room up with a cable interface and a Blu-ray player.
Rene: Apple TV in Canada is far behind the U.S., and I’m sure Apple TV in other geographies is even farther behind. I basically want everything I get on cable or satellite available on-demand as IPTV. Original programming, decoupled from the licensed cable model, and a la carte. That’s not asking for much, is it? (Sorry, iTunes team!)
Ren: BBC’s iPlayer or BBC America would be much appreciated. I need me some non-iTunes Doctor Who and other British shows, stat.
What kind of App Store or Game Store would you want on the Apple TV?
Peter: I’m not sure a full blown App Store is necessary, but a carefully curated Game Store featuring titles especially optimized either for Apple TV or for devices connected to Apple TV through AirPlay could be a game-changer. I’m not sure how feasible it is with current hardware, but it makes me happy to imagine it for a future device.
Ren: Seeing how well apps like Sketch Party TV do when mirrored to the Apple TV, I’d love more tools for app developers to hook into to really turn your TV into a great iOS gaming platform. Currently, developers can have different information up on their TV versus the screen of an iOS device, but it’s not really well-advertised or promoted. I love the idea of playing a four-up racing game via Apple TV using four iOS controllers, for instance.
Ally: AirPlay already lets you play any game you want on the big screen, so do you really need an App Store? My guess is no. I can do this on my Fire TV, and I have, two times ever. If I want to play video games on my tv, I’m most likely going to use a dedicated gaming console, or just AirPlay from my iPhone or iPad.
Rene: I’d like a Game Store. Sure, AirPlay works, but for the best performance you really want to go native. I’ll leave it to Peter to postulate what level of gaming an Apple TV with a Cyclone processor and Metal could provide, but Nintendo has shown there’s a vast, still only partially tapped casual TV gaming market.
As for apps, I’m not sure. A lot of apps make more sense on my Mac, iPad, iPhone, and even Apple Watch than I think they would on my Apple TV, at least as primary screen.
Does the Apple TV need to go 4K?
Ren: I think from a future-proofing standpoint, offering support for 4K displays could be a smart move. But I don’t think Apple or any other content provider really needs to start offering 4K content until screens get a little cheaper and data providers get a little more reasonable about caps and per-month data costs.
Ally: I will never understand people’s want to buy displays or devices that aren’t even supported by most content providers. For instance, when 1080p was a huge thing and TVs that offered it cost thousands of dollars, how many cable companies actually broadcast in HD? Next to none. Unless I wanted to buy expensive Blu-Rays or watch the few channels that bothered to do an HD broadcast, it wasn’t worth it. Right now, I don’t think it’s necessary. Streaming 4K content will be super data-intensive and people with capped internet plans won’t benefit. And honestly, I don’t see content providers jumping on the 4K bandwagon anytime soon.
Peter: At some point, but not right now. I don’t see consumers going in big numbers to get 4K sets quite yet, though prices are dropping. Bandwidth isn’t free, and I don’t think the benefit of 4K is big enough for most consumers to have to pay extra to their Internet Service Provider just for a prettier picture.
Rene: 4K has been on display at CES every year for the last few years. It’s always coming but only now arriving. Standards are forming, physical media is being planned, but there’s still a derth of content. iTunes 4K would be super interesting, since H.265 (HEVC just sounds so wrong) is a thing, but do we have the bandwidth for it yet? Do we have the source material for the encodings?
Like Gandalf, I’ll expect 4K when I see it.
What other features would you want to see on the Apple TV?
Ally: I just want Apple to fix the streaming issues with iTunes purchases after the 7.0 update. It’s a pain in the ass, and I can’t take it anymore. Seriously, I’m glad we had two second-generation Apple TVs, because they aren’t affected.
Peter: Better reliability. I still hear from a lot of people who have problems getting their Apple TV to work consistently. Some of these issues are network-related rather than Apple TV-related, but I think the box itself needs better intelligence and network management to make it more foolproof.
Rene: I know some people will say cable passthrough and DVR, but that just feels like the past to me. In a world with IP TV on-demand, I don’t need to record it. I just need to stream it whenever I want.
Siri, like I said before, would be great, though I do have concerns about a microphone always listening to me. (Nobody needs to hear my rendition of Sweet Child of Mine.) Apple also bought PrimeSense, the company whose technology helped make the first generation Xbox Kinect. I don’t know that I want a camera always watching me in my living room, though.
And like Ally said, fix the connectivity. There’s no reason why, when I wake my Apple TV from sleep, I need to see and dismiss multiple network connection errors. If the network is working when I wake it, kill those error boxes before I see them.
Ren: I’d love to see a better remote control (whether through Siri, gestures, the Watch, or other tools), smarter search, more options, and faster operation overall. The Apple TV can be sluggish at present, and I’d love to see the next version speed that up.
What would be your ideal Apple TV controller?
Peter: A big red button that says “Do it.”
Ally: I don’t mind the current remote, except it gets lost so damned easy. I can’t count how many times I’ve dismantled a couch or stripped a bed to find the damn thing. I typically say screw it and resort to the Remote app on my iPhone or iPad. If gaming is a real thing on the next gen Apple TV, the remote will most certainly have to be re-worked.
Rene: I like the current Apple TV controller but even if it went from IR to BT, it wouldn’t be enough for games. I’ll need a real controller for that. The iPhone and iPad remote apps are okay, but reconnecting over Wi-Fi takes way too long.
We’ll see how the Apple Watch does.
Ren: In a perfect world? Siri, or some sort of Kinect-like Multi-Touch gesture system.
Would you want a Chromecast-like Apple TV streaming stick?
Ally: Form factor doesn’t really matter to me.
Peter: I don’t care about the form-factor or design nearly as much as I care about the capabilities. If a stick gave me something the box didn’t, I could be interested. But a stick for a stick’s sake? Nope.
Rene: I would, but I’m not sure it’s Apple’s market any more than a netbook or budget phone is. The idea of Apple TV Direct, where the logic is on my phone and the interface is on my TV — like CarPlay or Apple Watch for the big screen — is enticing, though. It would be great for travel, for example.
Still, streaming creates a dependency on the device being streamed from. I like that Apple TV can stand alone.
Ren: Only if the rest of the Apple TV’s software was lurking on the iPhone the way that Chromecast piggybacks off your computer or phone’s Chrome/YouTube connection.
How badly do you feel that non-Americans like Rene don’t get all your content goodness?
Ally: I’ll let you on my channel lawn if you give me your healthcare that doesn’t suck.
Peter: Rene gets free health care. I think he’s got the better end of the deal.
Ren: I’m half-Canadian, so I guess I should feel bad… but living in the States has made me mean and callous.
Rene: !!!
Apple TV: What’s your bottom line?
Ally: A new Apple TV is something I’ve been excited about for over a year. I really hope we see something that knocks our socks off. Content provider deals are probably my biggest concern though, as that’s what really makes the Apple TV valuable in our home.
Peter: I think the Apple TV was already great at $99. It’s an even better value than before at $69. I’m not worried that the box I just bought is going to be obsoleted any time soon, even if Apple begins selling a new Apple TV.
Rene: Apple TV hasn’t been updated since March of 2012. I’d like nothing more than for Eddy Cue to take the next Keynote stage, unveil the new box, announce the new deals, and then introduce the SDK.
I’d like nothing more for the Apple TV than for it to do to the set top box what the iPad did for tablets.
Ren: Rock solid AirPlay, great content providers, and not too much interface fuss.
FBI accuses NYPD officer of scamming road accident victims
When most people are short of cash, they either sell some junk on eBay or get a second job. NYPD Auxiliary Deputy Inspector Yehuda Katz, on the other hand, decided to try something a little more audacious: a scam that involved breaking into into the FBI’s database. According to the bureau’s rap sheet, Katz installed a hidden camera and a remote link inside the NYPD’s Traffic Safety Office. Why? Because when he could see the office wasn’t occupied, he was able to fire up the compromised machine and search both the NYPD and FBI’s records concerning vehicle accidents.
The victims of traffic accidents were then sent letters from the fictitious law firm Katz and Katz, promising to help with any legal claims. The letters spoke of Katz pledging to “resolve this claim in your favor” and “My fee is 14 percent only when you collect. And I know that you will collect.” The Feds allege that Katz ran more than 6,400 searches in the months between May and August 2014. It’s not clear if the officer was able to make any money out of the racket, but it probably pales in comparison to the payback — since if he’s found guilty, he’s looking at a 10 year jail term.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Gizmodo
Source: The FBI
White House names top Facebook engineer as first director of IT
The White House has gone shopping for talent in Silicon Valley again. This time, it’s plucked David Recordon from Facebook to become its first Director of Information Technology. Before accepting the government position, Recordon served as the social network’s engineering director for five years, leading teams behind Facebook’s internal productivity, HR and video conferencing tools, among many other projects. As the IT director, he’s expected to “build on the Administration’s Smarter IT Delivery efforts to ensure that the technology utilized by the White House is efficient, effective, and secure.” He also has to “[modernize] software used to collaborate, and [bring] use of new technologies in line with private sector best practices.”
Recordon is joining a growing list of Silicon Valley alumni now employed at the White House, including former Google Site Reliability Manager Mikey Dickerson who led the efforts in fixing the Healthcare.gov fiasco. Dickerson and his personnel now form the first US Digital Service team, which is in charge of overhauling government websites and making sure they’re in working order. Former Google X VP Megan Smith is another entry in the list as US Chief Technical Officer, followed by ex-Twitter lawyer Alex Macgillivray who’s working under her as Deputy CTO. There’s also DJ Patil from eBay, PayPal and Skype, who’s now the Chief Data Scientist and Chief Technology Officer for Data Policy.
If the White House’s proposed fiscal budget of 2016 is approved, its aggressive hiring of top tech talents from the Valley won’t stop with Recordon. After all, the administration is asking for a $105 million budget to form a digital team for each of its 25 agencies.
[Image credit: Tantek/Wikipedia]
Source: Yahoo, The White House Blog
Siri and the potential for ‘Voice ID’
Yell “Hey, Siri!” on podcast — or out loud at an event — and you’ll get dozens of complaints from people who’s phones suddenly went into voice mode.
That might sound like an edge-case for Siri, Apple’s personal digital assistant, but here’s something more common — a family charging station with several iPhones devices plugged in. How do you target yours and yours alone? How do you make sure only your voice can activate Siri on your iPhone or iPad? On your Apple Watch? In your car or around your house?
To prevent false activations, the Apple Watch needs you to bring your wrist up and towards you before “Hey, Siri!” will work. The iPhone and iPad not so much. One way it could work is through voice biometrics. Think of it as a vocal fingerprint. Instead of Touch ID, think of it as Voice ID.
As the name implies, Voice ID biometrics could also be used for security the same way Touch ID biometrics are. Both our fingerprint and our speech patterns are “something we are”. They can be used instead of passwords or passcodes, which are “something we know”, or they can be used in conjunction for multi-factor authentication.
If you’re a fan of the movie Sneakers, think of it as your voice truly being your passport.
I have no idea whether or not Apple plans to implement anything like this in iOS 9, iOS X, of course, but the technology exists. Companies like Nuance are using it for a variety of applications already, and I’d love it if found its way into Siri one day.
You could register your voice the same way you register your fingerprint for Touch ID — by giving repeated samples.
The first time you hold down the Home button to activate Siri, it asks you to repeat a phrase, or several key phrases, three times each. Then it learns your voiceprint and the more you speak with it, the better than voiceprint gets. Again, just like Touch ID, but for your voice instead of your finger.
Voice ID could ensure that when someone yell’s “Hey, Siri!” on a podcast, or in a room with multiple iOS devices, only their Siri answers. Not mine, and not yours.
Voice ID could make it so that only you can access your iPhone or iPad or Apple Watch or CarPlay system or HomeKit system.
Voice ID could even load individualized environment when it recognized your voice — your preferences, your data, your content.
Siri brought natural language voice control out of obscurity and onto hundreds of millions of devices. Thanks to it’s Pixar-like personality, we’ve learned to talk not only to it, but with it. There’s still a lot more Siri-like technology can do for us, though.
Siri has already made the microphone smart, the same way Touch ID made the Home button smart. But Touch ID also made the Home button personalized. Voice ID could do the same for Siri.
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge go up for pre-order in the UK, SIM-free pricing starts at £599
Samsung has commenced pre-orders of its latest flagships in the UK, with both devices available for booking from Samsung’s official site as well as several retailers.
Editorial: The S6 Edge should be Samsung’s true flagship
Android smartphones have come a long way. As the budget end of the market continues to plumb new depths with unbelievable specs at low, low prices, the premium end is having to work harder to capture our interest and persuade us to part with large sums of cash. After a disappointing year, Samsung has taken decisive action to stop the rot, but with the S6 and S6 Edge, it has made changes that won’t please everyone.
With the Note 4 and the standard Galaxy S6 flanking it, you can’t help but feel that Samsung is hedging its bets. Will people buy the S6 Edge? Shouldn’t it be Samsung’s flagship? Do we need the S6 at all?
The expensive design trend
It was always trumpeted as one of the iPhone’s unique selling points, but it was probably the iPhone 4 that cemented its reputation as a stunning design triumph that looks and feels expensive. It’s not that other people never made expensive feeling or looking smartphones, but none of them had really had a major mainstream hit with one.
HTC led the charge to brushed metal desirability for Android with the One M7. The reviews were glowing and it was possibly the first Android smartphone that was consistently ranked as more beautiful than the iPhone. Samsung’s latest Galaxy S releases would always garner good reviews, for cutting edge specs at least, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single review that didn’t mention the reliance on plastic and how Samsung wasn’t matching the expensive design of other flagships.
The trend toward metal and glass is firmly entrenched at the high end of the market. Sony hasn’t revealed the Z4 yet, but its signature industrial design, blending metal and glass, is a sure thing. Huawei’s new Ascend P8 is probably going to have a chamfered metal frame. HTC’s One M9 is a gorgeous, if a little safe, sequel. Apple’s iPhone 6 has the expensive feel, though the curved metal aesthetic is compromised by those strips of plastic.
If we’re having a beauty contest, then the Galaxy S6 Edge walks it. If you’ve not been wowed by the pictures then you need to get a close-up look. The S6 Edge is impressively gorgeous.
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The right time for a change
It would have been braver of Samsung to just release the S6 Edge as its sole flagship. That would have been a real statement of intent. It has always preferred to offer more choice, though it did promise to tone down the huge range this year. When Samsung stuck to its guns under pressure to go metal in the past it was a decision you could respect, but the S4 simply wasn’t exciting, and the S5’s dimpled back cover was downright ugly. With a tough year ahead it was definitely time for a change.
If Samsung had just released the Galaxy S6 it wouldn’t have been enough. People would have shouted copycat again, but the S6 Edge combines the move to premium materials and design with real innovation in form factor. You can dismiss the curved edges as gimmicky, but Samsung has some smart ideas for features and when developers get their hands on the SDK we’ll start to see the real potential.
The only other Android manufacturer doing its own thing right now and still offering top end smartphones is LG. The G Flex 2 sticks with plastic and offers something new with that curve, and it still looks really good. It’s also by far the most comfortable flagship smartphone to actually hold in your hand right now, which is the saving grace of plastic designs. Will LG bow to the metal design trend with the G4?
Betraying the faithful?
When you look back at the arguments of loyal Samsung fans in the past, you’ll find references to the comfort and practicality of the plastic design and an insistence that the latest Galaxy S looks awesome. There has also always been much love for those twin pillars of Android fan excitement – expandable storage via microSD card slots and a removable battery. No two features have generated more comments on articles about Android smartphones across the land.
Will traditional Samsung fans go elsewhere in significant numbers, or is it just a vocal minority? Could we see a change in the Samsung fan base, or is brand loyalty stronger than mere features? It will be interesting to see.
The other casualty of Samsung’s shiny new design aesthetic is the IP rating. It looked like some level of waterproofing might become standard for a while there, but sadly it’s being confined back to a special category (there will be an S6 Active). If there’s one weakness you might point to looking at the S6 and S6 Edge it would have to be fragility. The S6 Edge is the least rugged-looking phone we’ve seen for quite some time. It’s definitely going to be prone to scratches, chips, and cracks.
The best of the best?
As the reviews and comparisons roll out, the S6 Edge looks like it has a real shot at the title. The iPhone traditionally punches above it weight in terms of specs on paper, but we’re already seeing credible reports that the S6 Edge has a better display, camera, and far superior multi-core performance. Samsung has also improved the fingerprint sensor, toned down the bloatware, and provided support for both major wireless charging standards.
Having said all that, it does look fragile, we’re not sure about the battery life (2,600-mAh), and it does still run TouchWiz, even if it is scaled back.
We’ll need some real time with it to decide whether it really outdoes the rest of the field. One thing’s for certain – the S6 Edge is much more attractive than the plain S6. Samsung has reported 20 million pre-orders already from retailers, but apparently the split is 15 to the S6 and 5 to the S6 Edge.
If you’re in the market for one of them then we urge you to try the S6 Edge. It’s has everything the S6 offers and more, and it deserves to be Samsung’s real flagship.
What about you? Which one do you prefer?
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Google’s new Android Wear commercial has lots of fancy finger work
Google just released the full version of the Android Wear commercial launched just hours ahead Apple’s big Watch event from March 9.
While that clip was a quick 17 seconds, the full version extends over a minute and showcases Android Wear devices from Sony, Motorola, LG, Asus, and Samsung. Because #BeTogetherNotTheSame. Round or square, am I right, Apple?
Peter Chou is no longer the CEO of HTC. Cher Wang takes over
It’s the end of an era, ladies and gentlemen. Peter Chou, co-founder and long-time CEO of HTC, has given up his position, with Cher Wang set to take over.
Along with Cher Wang and H.T.Cho, Chou founded HTC in 1997 as a contract manufacturer making computers and other electronics for various brands. In 2004, Chou took over as CEO, and under his leadership, HTC developed into a world leader of the smartphone industry. Following years of steady growth, HTC’s fortunes began to wane in 2012 and the company has been struggling to recover ever since.
Peter Chou will stay with the company as “head of the HTC Future Development Lab.”
Peter Chou will be ceding his position to HTC Chairman Cher Wang, but he will stay with the company as “head of the HTC Future Development Lab.”
“As an entrepreneur at heart, I am excited to see so many new opportunities, and I am honoured to accept this opportunity to help shape the next stage of HTC’s development,” said Cher Wang, who highlighted HTC’s connected living products in her statement.
“We pioneered the smartphone industry; now we are applying that thinking to realize the potential of a new generation of connected products and services. The overwhelming response that our virtual reality product, HTC Vive, received earlier this month underlines the importance of these new connected technologies for our future”
Wang has actually taken over many of Chou’s day-to-day responsibilities since 2013. Wang has been handling sales, marketing and supplier relationships, while Chou was in charge of product development and “innovation.” According to HTC, today’s announcement is a mere formalization of a state of facts: “the Board of Directors and executive team agreed that it was now appropriate to formalize that progression.”
Cher Wang
Peter Chou has been a polarizing figure. While he was beloved for his charisma and dedication to HTC, his abrasive style and “shoot from the hip” approach to product development were blamed for the company’s difficulties over the past few years. In a Reuters piece from 2013 that cited “insiders,” Chou was also criticized for his inability to open up and delegate, which allegedly caused many of HTC’s international executives to leave.
Chou’s departure comes at a sensitive for HTC, as it’s gearing up to release its newest flagship on April 10. While the company’s financial results have improved over the past quarters, a lot weighs on the success of the M9.
We’ll be adding more details at we learn them.
Why can’t I send regular text messages on my iPhone 6 or 6 Plus?
Your iPhone can receive not only iMessages, which are indicated by blue bubbles, but regular old SMS messages as well, which are represented by green bubbles. If you’re using an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus and find yourself only able to send and receive blue bubble iMessages, you don’t seem to be alone. This is the question from you guys, or readers, that we’re going to tackle this week.
I have an iPhone 6 and can not send or receive regular SMS messages, I am only receiving and sending iMessages. Why isn’t my regular SMS working?
This how-to is part of our iOS Help feature, where every week I try and help you fix the problems you’re having with your iPhones and iPads. If you have a question or need help with something iOS related that you just can’t figure out, I encourage you to drop a question in our iMore forums, no registration required, or send me an email at ioshelp@imore.com
This issue seems to only affect iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners. I recently experienced it myself after switching devices, so I understand how frustrating it can be. Let’s take a look at what steps you can perform to try and restore text message functionality again.
1. Reboot your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus
The first thing you should always try when having issues is a hard reboot. You can do this by holding down the Home button and Power button on your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. Don’t let go of either of them until you see the Apple logo again.
If a reboot doesn’t restore your text message functionality, continue on to step 2.
2. Disable SMS forwarding on all the things
SMS forwarding, or SMS relay, is part of Apple’s Continuity feature which was introduced in iOS 8. It allows you to send and receive green bubble SMS messages on your Mac and iPad. If a connection issue is occurring between certain devices, it could cause issues.
Follow these steps on your iPhone in order to disable forwarding to other devices:
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.
- Tap on Messages.
- Tap on Text Message Forwarding.
- Turn Off forwarding to all devices listed.
- Reboot your iPhone.
If you still can’t send regular green bubble texts, continue on…
3. Reset network settings
Resetting network settings is a fail safe for funky network issues that might occur. This is no exception. So if neither of the steps above have worked, it’s time to reset them. Just keep in mind that you’ll have to re-enter some stuff, such as Wi-Fi passwords. If you aren’t sure how, just follow these steps:
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on General.
- Tap on Reset, it’s all the way at the bottom.
- Tap on Reset Network Settings.
- Confirm in the popup.
- Your iPhone will reboot
4. Turn off LTE or use it for data only
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus feature VoLTE and if you live in an area where your carrier is actively expanding or rolling it out, funny things have been known to happen. To remedy them, you can try and use LTE only for data, or not at all. It may not be ideal but should only be temporary.
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on Cellular.
- Tap on LTE.
- Tap on either Data Only or Off.
- Reboot your iPhone.
Once your iPhone finishes rebooting, try and send a regular text message. If you still can’t send or receive them, continue on.
5. Restore your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus
If all else fails, a restore should fix the issue. Our forums have shown that some of the above steps worked for some of our readers. And hopefully you didn’t have to make it this far. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me. I ended up restoring my iPhone in iTunes and then bringing my backup down again from iCloud. My text messages worked find again after that.
You can follow our guides on how to restore your iPhone. I highly recommend restoring in iTunes instead of wiping remotely on the device, if you can.
After you wipe all your data and restore, you can restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup just as you normally would.
What worked for you?
If you were able to fix your SMS issue on your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, what worked for you? Be sure to let me know in the comments.
And if you have another question you’d like to ask me, we encourage you to leave them in our ask a question forum, no registration required!
AIVAnet 
