Apple Celebrates Groundbreaking of New Reno Warehouse With Visit From Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple today started construction on a new warehouse in downtown Reno, Nevada, with the site visited this afternoon by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve, reports the Reno Gazette-Journal.

In a speech given at the groundbreaking of the warehouse, which is located near the company’s Reno data center, Cook said the data center is a key component in the ecosystem that provides billions of iMessages, photos, and FaceTime calls to customers around the world each day.

Breaking ground in Reno today with @GovSandoval & @MayorSchieve as part of our data center expansion plan, one of many Apple initiatives which will contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy and create 20,000 new jobs over the next 5 years. pic.twitter.com/g40dlHsxuC

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 17, 2018

“We’ve invested $1.6 billion in the region today and over the course of the next six years, we intend to invest an additional $1 billion,” said Cook.

“Reno plays an incredibly important role in the products and services that we provide our customers worldwide. Without the data center here, none of this would be possible.”

Apple’s presence in Reno kicked off in 2012 with the construction of its data center. As part of that deal Apple was required to build a facility in the downtown Reno tourism improvement district, hence the warehouse.

Apple plans to use the upcoming Reno, Nevada warehouse to move equipment to the data center, which Apple allowed the Reno Gazette-Journal to tour today following Cook’s speech.

Image via the Reno Gazette-Journal
The site shared nearly 50 photos captured from inside the data center, filled with racks and racks of the servers that power Apple services. The images provide glimpses at Apple’s server setup, cabling, cooling operations, cleaning rooms, and more.

Tags: data center, Reno
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New year, new you, new phone?

If Santa disappointed you or you were too naughty and didn’t find anything smart under the tree, there is still hope for you to get your hands on the latest crazes of the high-end phone world. The iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 are not only eye-candy but two powerful pieces of machinery with a hefty price tag.

In the rink

The choice between the two is most difficult for those who are not already die-hard fans of either Apple products or the Android deluxe editions.

The specifications of the iPhone are slightly lower than those of the Samsung:

• 8-inch screen OLED compared to 6.3-inch (AMOLED);
• 3GB versus 6GB;
• 7-MP front camera compared to 8-MP;
• Battery life under 11 hours compared to more.

Yet, the price point if higher for the Apple product, starting at $999, but going as much as $1,149 for the 256 GB version, compared to $950 for the Android.

The reviewers motivate the difference by highlighting that the iPhone X scores additional points for design and camera quality, which Samsung is trying to imitate, but have not closed in just yet. The colors, contrast and portrait options of the Apple machine are almost matching semi-professional cameras, and even the selfie tool is impressive.

On the other hand, the Note 8 really shines in the recording mode and has impressive stabilization properties. In a head by head comparison with the iPhone X and other top smartphones like the Mate 10 Pro and Pixel 2, the tool from Samsung managed to produce crystal clear footage in a moving and shaking environment like the subway.

The A11 Bionic processor is both a powerhouse and an engineering masterpiece. It uses the same manufacturing process as the Snapdragon 835 found in Note 8, but is a hexa-core chip, compared to an octa-core and is capable of per-core scheduling. The tests show that the power of the A11 is almost double compared to the Snapdragon 835. Also, the price is considerably higher, but Apple affords to do this by cutting corners in other places where it matters less.

The Note series comes with its own tribe, usually from the corporate world. Its main attraction points include the versatile stylus, which can be used for notes or drawings, but also the duality offered by the App Pair system, a way to run two apps simultaneously.

On the other hand, the iPhone X tries to appeal to Millennials and Gen Z by turning your own facial expressions into animojis, a type of very personal emoticons, not really useful but fun.

Get your own

Probably by now, you have already made your mind, and our short review just helped you say once more that you need that new tool to start your year right. If you are more into productivity features and video quality you should go with the Android, while if you value more the static pictures and connecting with your friends in fun ways, the Apple would be more to your taste.

However, the price seems like a significant drawback, and we can’t confirm the rumors that the iPhone X prices will drop sharply in Q1 2018.  There are a few options including monthly installments from each major carrier, but why not look here. This is great especially if you plan on getting more than one, for example for each of your kids or yourself and your significant other or if you want to expand the repayment term beyond the standard 24 months given by phone companies. The loan option is also a way to get squeeze into your budget one of these cool toys while attending more serious matters like consolidation or refinancing.