12.9-Inch ‘iPad Pro’ Could Have Flexible Touch Panel With Increased Sensitivity

Apple is exploring the possibility of equipping the much-rumored 12.9-inch “iPad Pro” with an improved touch panel that uses silver nano wire (AgNW) material instead of ITO-based clear film, according to South Korea’s Electronic Times (via G4Games). The flexible touch panel would reportedly have greater accuracy and sensitivity and be able to recognize multiple pressure levels, which could allow for Force Touch.

A purported “iPad Pro” blueprint from December 2014 with possible dimensions
The report claims that Apple requested samples of the touch panel ready for mass-production from LG Display, Samsung Display, Japan Display and other major display manufacturers at the start of this week, and predicts that the company will release a new 12.9-inch iPad next year as the first device utilizing the new touch panel technology. Recent rumors have pointed towards a late 2015 unveiling of the iPad Pro.

Apple could benefit from lower production costs by using AgNW touch panels, according to the report, since the technology does not require using a scarce metal like indium. The report adds that Apple is also considering applying a thin layer of sapphire crystal to the touch panel, but it remains questionable if the company’s suppliers are capable of effectively producing the material for large-screened tablets yet.

The 12.9-inch iPad is rumored to feature a built-in NFC chip, pressure-sensitive Bluetooth stylus, Force Touch, one USB-C port and Apple’s latest A-series processor. Rumors suggest that the NFC chip will enable the iPad to be used as a payment terminal, while the single USB-C port will either replace or supplement the Lightning connector equipped on other current iPads.

Tim Cook Joins Weibo as iPhone Sales Remain Strong in China [iOS Blog]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has expanded his social media presence by creating an account on Chinese microblogging service Weibo, where he has already accumulated over 325,000 followers as of writing. Cook’s first post on Weibo reflects on his current visit to Beijing to announce new environmental initiatives in China, including a new multi-year forestland program in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund.

“Hello China! Happy to be back in Beijing, announcing innovative new environmental programs,” wrote Cook, followed by a Chinese translation of the same message. Last month, Apple announced a partnership with SunPower Corporation to build two 20-megawatt solar power plants that will provide more than enough energy to power all of Apple’s corporate offices and retail stores in China.

Coinciding with Cook’s visit to China this week, market research firm IDC has released new data for the smartphone market that reveals Apple was the largest smartphone vendor in China during the first quarter of 2015. Apple shipped 14.5 million smartphones in China during the quarter for 14.7% market share, while Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi trailed in second with 13.5 million shipments and 13.7% market share.

Huawei, Samsung and Lenovo rounded off the top five smartphone vendors in China during the first quarter, although IDC notes that each vendor’s rankings often change quickly due to the volatility of consumer brand preference in China. Samsung and Lenovo, for example, both led the market at least once last year, but ranked fourth and fifth in the first quarter respectively.

“Apple was the top smartphone vendor in China in the first quarter of 2015, with consumers still having a strong appetite for the larger screens on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Xiaomi slipped to the second position as it faced strong competition from other vendors in the low to mid-range segment of the market, while Huawei maintained third position as it saw a good uptake in the mid-range segment. Samsung and Lenovo both led the market at least once last year, but rankings have since changed quickly, highlighting the volatility of consumers’ brand preference in China.”

With an estimated 1.4 billion people and growing, China is the world’s most populous country and over three times larger than the United States, which has an estimated population of 320 million people. China is an increasingly important market for Apple, given that the country had higher iPhone sales than the United States for the first time ever during the most recent quarter.

Apple Watch Stands Up to 1,200m Swim Workout and 10m High Dive Test [iOS Blog]

The Apple Watch has been put through a variety of waterproofing tests since its public launch in April, but over the weekend endurance sports and tech blogger Ray Waker posted a few Apple Watch-related waterproof videos, including the first lap swimming test with Apple’s new wearable.

As Waker notes in his blog post, many people have uploaded videos detailing simple waterproof tests in smaller backyard pools, but there has until now been little information on the Watch’s ability to withstand higher-intensity swimming activities. As he notes, “It’s the wrist hitting the water that’s so difficult for watch waterproofing due to the impact forces,” so that’s what he decides to focus on in the test. After about 25 minutes in the water and a 1200 meter swim, Maker found results similar to most other waterproofing tests over the past few weeks – the Apple Watch remains seemingly unharmed by even the most daunting submerged water tests.

Afterwards, he aims to increase the water impact experimentation on the wearable by diving off of his local public pool’s high diving platform. As Maker mentions, it’s another item on the list of warnings given by Apple to avoid subjecting the Watch — “Dropping Apple Watch or subjecting it to other impacts” — but even after two jumps off the 5 meter platform and one off the 10 meter, the Apple Watch continued to perform normally for the tech blogger.

Maker’s final test lies outside of a swimming pool in a makeshift waterproof test chamber, designed to simulate varying meters of pressure below the surface of the water. The Apple Watch, which is rated for only 1 meter of depth for waterproofing, was simulated with two separate dives of 40 meters during Maker’s test. The results, unsurprisingly, fell in line with his previous findings for the Watch, with all of its various features appearing to function as expected following the stress test.

I’m impressed, it’s still chugging along after that – with not a single sign of any issues at all. Clearly this is all more than adequate for any sort of casual sweat or showering. Though I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out over the next few weeks just in case.

Of course, the slightly awkward thing is that despite this battery of tests, the unit still isn’t warrantied for any of this, including even a simple shower with soap. Now whether or not an Apple Store employee would question a watch that arrives back dead probably remains to be seen. On the flip side, it’s also clear that it’s probably quite a bit harder to kill the thing than Apple would have you believe.

As with any new product category, the Apple Watch has faced a deluge of various testing in videos and on blogs around the web ever since it launched to customers on April 24. Ray Waker’s experiments provide the first real glimpse at the usability of the Watch in a high-intensity swimming environment, and definitely provides more ease-of-mind to those worrying about getting their watch even slightly wet. Still, Waker reiterates that given that the Watch “doesn’t take advantage of its internal accelerometers for any swimming metrics,” he advises to leave it behind when swimming in a pool.