Sony mocks Apple over iPhone 6S battery life
Product launches often present your rivals with an opportunity to score some extra publicity for themselves by drawing attention to some features that they can do better. Sony seems to have found such a sore spot, taking aim at Apple’s newly announced iPhone 6S and its unchanged battery life.
Apple declared that the iPhone 6S will offer the same battery performance as last year’s flagship, meaning that we’re probably looking at a similarly sized 1,810mAh battery. Apple claims around 12 hours of internet use and 24 hours of talk time on a single charge, which doesn’t sound too bad, but the iPhone is pretty well known for not lasting heavy users through an entire day. However, Sony boasts 2 days of use with its newly announced Xperia Z5 line-up, which feature batteries ranging from 2,700mAh to 3,430mAh depending on the model. The company took to Twitter to ask Siri “what about the battery life?”
A battery life worth talking about… Up to 2 days’ battery with #Xperia Z5 series: http://t.co/n7KuPge34V pic.twitter.com/ldA7KWYyns
— Sony Xperia (@sonyxperia) September 9, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIf that wasn’t cheeky enough for you, the Tweet also contains a link to Sony’s website, where users are guided through how to switch from iOS to a new Sony smartphone. Sony isn’t the only company lining up jabs at Apple’s latest release either. Samsung has been posting a series of Tweets about its latest Galaxy S6 line-up and has also spotted a familiar feature in among Apple’s new products.
Ummm…S-Pen #SoundsFamiliar — Samsung Mobile UK (@SamsungMobileUK) September 9, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
These jabs are unlikely to alter many minds, but do you think that Samsung or Sony are also making a valid point? What do you think about the features included with Apple’s latest smartphones?
Read more: By the numbers: iPhone 6S vs the Android competition
Opinion: Why Force Touch is a paradoxical complication in the world of sublime simplicity
Far be it for me to go against the mainstream opinion, but I’m not quite sold on Apple’s Force Touch, or as it’s now being touted, “3D Touch.” The basic principal is simple: with some clever uses of pressure sensitivity, displays implementing the tech can detect three levels: a tap, a soft press, and a hard press. It’s actually pretty cool to be quite honest, though its use is questionable and it’s anything but intuitive.
Having spent a few weeks with the Apple Watch shortly after its release in April, my experiences with “the Force” was mixed at best. Now that Apple has sought to include it in this year’s iPhone series refresh, I feel the need to suggest why this “magical” new technology – while innovative – is actually less user-friendly than one might assume.
Watch the Force
Given the basic way in which we have been conditioned with touch-based interfaces, there is a certain degree of intuition and understanding that dictates the manner in which new products and UI are approached. Let’s consider the aforementioned Apple Watch. One of the most fundamental aspects of the product, and indeed one that Apple made quite visible from the first promotional video it was featured on during the unveiling last year, was the watch faces. Remember how everyone commented about the cute Mickey Mouse for example.
Imagine then, my utter confusion and almost panic, upon trying to change the default watch face. I couldn’t. Now please keep in mind that my experience with touch screens goes back to the early PDAs. (To this day my father still talks of the Die Another Day HP Jornada SP he reluctantly was talked into buying for me.) I know how touch works. Heck, I know how wearables work considering I’ve owned or tested every Android Wear and Tizen device released so far. And yet, that damn watch face.
Read: By the numbers: iPhone 6S vs the Android competition
So confused I was, that I actually had to search the internet for a solution. And even more amazingly, at that point in time there was basically nothing. The only things that turned up back in late April for “how to change the watch face” were basically posts on the different faces. How do I change the freaking face. Then, out of some kind of bizarre stroke of luck or simply desperation, I pushed the screen. Hard. Ah ha! That’s the trick.
You see, I was making a major mistake: the Apple Watch’s face isn’t changed by holding down on the screen as you would think based on every other device you’ve ever used. No, it’s based on pressing the screen hard. Suddenly I “got it”. Here’s the problem though: if I – as a person that lives, breathes, and thinks tech – couldn’t even fathom the most fundamental way to use Force Touch, how the freaking **** is any random person going to without going through the same process? And mind you, consider how many iPhone users probably still don’t know what Siri is, or how to activate it. Siri has been around since the 4S for crying out loud.
We’re using it wrong
Now I realize that for some people, even my experience will be seen as idiocy. “How could you not even know about Force Touch if you claim to be a techie?” or “What kind of moron wouldn’t know to try that.” Thing is, I actually did know about Force Touch long before I got the Apple Watch. Heck, I watched the launch event live when it happened. The problem is that the entire idea was absolutely so alien to the manner in which I have been conditioned to interact with devices for the past two decades, it basically slipped my mind.
Apple is a company that seeks to bring simplicity to those that subscribe to its scripture. It preaches dogma about a clean and easy to understand user interface and is safe for everyone from infants to the elderly to use without any real fear of doing damage to the OS or core files therein. How is it then, that Force Touch ever came about? How could a company that prides itself on “the basics” actually seek to develop and now widely integrate such an unnatural, un-intuitive manner of input into their products?
And yes, I do mean that. The learning curve is just far too steep. This isn’t something natural like pinch to zoom or multi-touch or gestures or anything else. This is having the user exert excessive physical force onto a glass panel in order to cause a functional reaction. Let’s think about that for a second. Chances are, you’ve tried at least once to press hard onto an LCD panel and have seen the distortion that ensues. Chances are equally likely that, in doing so, you worried it might be damaging the screen. Now stop for a second, consider the very prospect of Force Touch, and the notion of pressing into the glass. Harder.
Babies are being born
I have no doubt that people born in the era of the “Force” will never have the reservations that have been expressed in this piece. The problem is that there are several billion people who already inhabit the planet and many of them are pre-conditioned to using touch technology in a very specific way. Perhaps they will grow up and be taught that pressure isn’t the be-all-end-all way to break precision electronics.
It is actually quite cool, and honestly I am curious and eager to discover what ultimately becomes of the technology, especially given that some Android OEMs have already sought to make use of it (presumably before Apple’s patents have cleared in their country). Truth be told, after I learned just how to use Force Touch, it made me want to experiment with every app on the Apple Watch. It was, perhaps as Cupertino intends it to be, a “revolution” in terms of user interface interaction, to an extent at least.
Still, I am not without reservations. I occasionally “relapsed” during my time with the Apple Watch, forgetting that a hard press was needed to achieve a desired result. Call it my inability to properly integrate something new. Still, in my defense, I present over two decades of touch-based experience which has clouded my abilities.
Wrap up
I do wonder just how the general public will receive these new iPhones. The Apple Watch, while wildly profitable, is still a very niche product. Likewise, even the MacBooks that make use of Force Touch are catering to a more limited audience given the monopoly the Personal Computer still has in market share. Perhaps those who use one or both product categories will have no reservations or problems whatsoever with the iPhone 6S’ 3D Touch. It would make sense given they are pre-conditioned and have already been required to “relearn” touch.
I suspect however, that what might actually happen is a massive majority of iPhone users will unpack their shiny new device and either not realize it has 3D Touch, not understand what 3D Touch is, or – like me – know of it but not actually process the idea of using it. Assuming Apple’s utilization of the feature in connection with operation is limited or complementary at best, perhaps those who are none the wiser won’t know what they’re missing.
On the other hand, if Force Touch is heavily integrated, or even worse, if third party developers start making heavy use of it, there is a massive potential for a massive backlash of people who are complaining about “broken” or “malfunctioning” or “glitchy” hardware and software when, to paraphrase the late and dear Steve Jobs, they’re just not using it right.
Paper by FiftyThree Expands to the iPhone, Gains New Features
Popular sketching app Paper by FiftyThree received a major update today, expanding support to the iPhone and adding a range of new features to expand its idea-capturing capabilities. With the new update, Paper builds on its sketching and diagramming tools with support for text, images, lists, and more.
Today’s update is Paper‘s biggest revamp since it launched in 2012, and the company’s goal is to turn it into the ultimate mixed media note-taking and idea-aggregating app for better productivity. It’s now possible to add images, photos, and text to Paper, and text can be customized with simple swipes. You’re also able to pick up text snippets and move them around on the screen with a finger, and entire lists can be built with a swipe.
With image support, Paper users can take a photo directly within the Paper app and then annotate it using the built-in drawing tools. Ideas created in Paper can be shared with friends by email and through a range of social media networks. Here’s a full list of the features, new and old, in Paper:
Text, Photos, and Sketching–Each note has the option to take a photo, type a note, or sketch out your idea.
Swipe to Style–A ground-breaking new feature that lets you create fast lists, bullet points, or headlines with a simple swipe of your finger.
Photo Spotlight–A new filter that lets you easily spotlight the area in photos and screenshots that you want to call attention to.
Sketch–All the power of Paper’s award-winning tools to write, sketch, diagram, and graph are now in your pocket.
Diagram–Paper recognizes and corrects shapes drawn, making it easy to create presentation-ready shapes for charts, diagrams, flows, and more.
Grid View–grid view means text, photos, and sketches live together in a grid that shows you everything at once and can be rearranged into presentations, outlines, or storyboards.
Spaces–Organize your ideas into separate Spaces that you can name and customize with a cover image. Make as many Spaces as you want.
Universal App–Paper is a universal app that works across iPads and iPhones that run iOS8+.
Pencil–Connect Pencil, FiftyThree’s award-winning Bluetooth stylus, for a faster and more natural way to sketch out your ideas.
All of the new features are available on both the iPad and the iPhone, and the existing Paper app is now universal to allow it to work with all of Apple’s mobile devices.
Paper by FiftyThree can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Paper’s new iPhone app can replace your Moleskine
Even without an official iPad stylus (until yesterday, that is), FiftyThree’s Paper for the iPad was one of the best apps out there for showing just how good Apple’s tablet was for creating beautiful artwork, either with your finger or the company’s Pencil accessory. The app has changed over the years, but its focus has remained on sketches and drawings collected together in different virtual notebooks, but today FiftyThree is shaking things up significantly with the launch of Paper 3.0. The update features both a change in focus and a change in platform. The latter is easy enough to explain: for the first time, Paper is a universal app that’ll work with your iPhone as well as your iPad.
When you launch Paper on your iPhone, you’ll see the evidence of the app’s evolution. Rather than simply focusing on sketches, Paper now wants you to focus on ideas — those can take the form of text notes, photos, sketches or any combination of the three. Tapping the plus button at the bottom of the screen launches a text entry field by default for you to jot down notes on, but Paper has included a few nice features here to elevate things beyond the many note-taking apps already out there. After typing a line of text, you can hold and swipe across it to get some different formatting options. Swiping to the left makes the text bigger and bolder; swiping to the right adds either a standard bullet point or a check box for to-do lists.
At the bottom of the text entry field are icons for you to switch your view from text to either Paper’s traditional sketching view or a photo view — from the latter, you can snap a picture or access anything in your camera roll. Once you’ve added a picture to your note, you can crop, resize, or “highlight” a specific portion of the image. Resizing seems particularly useful if you want to include some sketching notes alongside the picture, but unfortunately you can only add one photo to a note at a time. Still, the ability to combine text notes and photos with the sketching features that Paper has done so well for so long makes the app a pretty compelling tool for anyone who needs a note-taking experience that extends beyond simple text entry.
To go along with its new focus, Paper has renaming journals to “Spaces.” They’re effectively the same thing — a way to collect a bunch of related sketches and notes — but they’re viewed as more a pile of your different ideas rather than the faux-notebook pages that dominated the journal view on the iPad. It’s more of a design change than anything functionally different, but it definitely fits with what Paper is now focusing on. And even though the main thrust of this app update is the move to the iPhone, all these changes are present in the iPad version, as well. Fortunately, the app is still just as good at its original sketching features as it has ever been — in fact, the sketch view is the default in the iPad rather than the text field that’s the default on the iPhone. And if you’re a stylus fan, Paper’s Pencil will work on your iPhone as well as the iPad.
Other apps may combine mixed media as Paper is now trying to do, and there’s no question that Paper isn’t as focused on extensive organization and search like Evernote is. But the app’s excellent sketching features remain best in class, and that alone means that Paper will continue to have an important place on many people’s iOS devices. It’s hard to argue with the free price point, as well — if you want a good way to take visual notes and like to doodle, Paper is certainly worth a look. It’s out today in the App Store.
Tags: apple, fiftythree, mobilepostcross, noteapps, notes, notetaking, paper, paperforiphone, sketching
NVIDIA isn’t impressed by the new Apple TV
Yesterday, Apple unveiled its revamped TV box, alongside its other products, which comes with a new OS, access to TV based apps and also acts as a living room gaming device. Apple certainly wasn’t the first to market though and NVIDIA doesn’t seem too impressed. Late, under powered and already outdated seems to be the vibe.
“The future of TV is apps” proclaimed Cook during yesterday’s presentation, meaning that Apple has finally caught up with Amazon and the rest of the Android TV space by moving over to an app based TV OS. The device also comes with a remote control with a touch-sensitive panel and built in microphone, which enables users to issue voice and search commands to Siri.
Although Apple TV seems to have most of the main features covered and a reasonable selection of channels to choose from, NVIDIA points out that its SHIELD Android TV box has a few more, as do a few other Android based boxes. Not only that, but the SHIELD is the only major product to support 4K video content and HDMI 2.0 technology.
“Wireless remote with voice integration? Check. Universal voice and cross-app search? Check. Ability to download games from a dedicated TV app store? Check. How about a mobile OS with a user interface optimized for TV? Been there, done that.” – NVIDIA
For the gamers out there, NVIDIA is also boasting almost three times the benchmark performance of the latest Apple TV and even higher gains over the likes of the Nexus Player or the Amazon Fire TV. The SHIELD Android TV also supports game streaming from PC, GRID cloud gaming technology and a selection of “console-class” games. Of course, not everyone is going to care about all of these features, but it’s something to consider, given that Apple spent some considerable time talking about video games during its presentation.
See also: NVIDIA Shield Android TV review
NVIDIA sent us this nifty little comparison chart that sums up the major features included in variety of major set-top boxes. It’s probably worth a glance if you’re thinking about picking up a box any time soon.
What do you think about the NVIDIA SHIELD TV box and Apple TV, or are there other set-top boxes out there that are more worthy of your cash?
Baidu unveils a voice-activated, AI-based smartphone assistant
Chinese tech company Baidu announced at its Baidu World conference on Tuesday that it is launching a voice-activated assistant for its Android-based smartphones. The program is called “Duer”, which roughly translates into “Du Secretary”, is expected to directly compete with Siri, Cortana and Google Now. Initially, the app will allow users to perform tasks like ordering food as well as controlling smart devices around the home and accessing other on-demand services (ride hailing, designated driver services, or housekeeping) via voice command. Eventually, the company plans to integrate Duer into its other apps, like Maps, and potentially even into the self-driving BMW that the company is rumored to be working on.
[Image Credit: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images]
Filed under:
Internet, Apple, Microsoft, Google
Via:
The Guardian
Source:
China Daily
Tags: AI, apple, Baidu, BMW, Duer, google, Google Now, microsoft, search, Siri, voice-activated
Apple Increases AppleCare+ Prices and Service Fees for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
While Apple didn’t discuss AppleCare+ pricing as it unveiled the new iPhone 6s and 6 Plus today at its “Hey Siri” event, the Cupertino company did unveil new pricing for the service on its website. AppleCare+ for both devices is $129.99 while its service fee is $99.99.
This is an increase from the pricing for iPhone 6 and earlier models, which are priced at $99.99 for AppleCare+ and $79.99 for the service fee. It’s likely the increased prices are due to the new technology in the new devices, which includes a larger Taptic Engine and the brand new 3D Touch, which Apple is billing as the next generation of Multi-Touch display.
Earlier today, Apple also announced the iPhone Upgrade Program, which allows those who sign up to trade-in their current iPhone for a new model after 12 monthly installments are made. The program includes AppleCare+ with each iPhone, which might lure some away from carriers’ contract-free pricing toward Apple’s alternative. iPhone Upgrade Program pricing starts at $32.41 a month for the 16 GB iPhone 6s and goes up to $44.91 a month for the 128 GB iPhone 6s Plus.
21.5-Inch Retina 4K iMac Production Getting Underway
Production of Apple’s upcoming 21.5-inch Retina 4K iMac has begun within the past few days, according to a report from DigiTimes. The new machines are rumored to be launching in late October, but Apple elected not to make any advance announcements about the forthcoming update at today’s media event.
Production of a new 21-inch iMac featuring a 4096 by 2304 screen kicked off in early September and will be launched in the fourth quarter, with shipments in the quarter estimated at 1.4-1.5 million units, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers. […]
The sources pointed out that the new 21-inch iMac only has a limited change in industrial design, but is upgraded with better hardware specifications, especially the Ultra HD display.
While the larger 27-inch iMac has received several updates over the past two years to add Retina 5K models at the high end, the 21.5-inch iMac has been unchanged since September 2013 with the exception of an ultra low-end model introduced in June 2014.
Signs of a Retina update for the smaller iMac were discovered in OS X El Capitan in late June, pointing to an update using Broadwell processors and Iris Pro or improved AMD graphics. Rumors of timing for the update started to surface in the following weeks, initially pointing to late third quarter or early fourth quarter before more recently being pinned down to late October for orders and early November for deliveries.
Apple Debuts ‘Get Ready to Pre-Order’ Option for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
Alongside its new purchase pages for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Apple debuted a website feature called “Get Ready to Pre-Order”, an attempt to streamline the pre-ordering process in what is frequently a hectic and potentially confusing time for some would-be iPhone purchasers.
The option, which is available both online and in the Apple Store app, allows users to enter their wireless account details to confirm available pricing options before pre-orders officially begin at 12:01 a.m. PDT on September 12. This allows users to have a more streamlined pre-order experience, simply selecting their iPhone model, storage size, color and potential accessories before checking out.
In recent months, Apple has made efforts to streamline its shopping experiences in both retail and online stores. Last month, the company removed the iPad Smart Signs from its retail stores and moved pricing information into new apps on the display products themselves. The company also merged the Apple.com website and online store, creating a more streamlined experience for users.
iPad Pro First Impressions: Surprisingly Light, But Screen Size May Be Unnecessary for Most
As journalists and bloggers leave the Apple media event in San Francisco, the first impressions of the brand-new iPad Pro have begun trickling out onto the Internet. Sites like Wired, Engadget, SlashGear, and TechnoBuffalo all got to go hands-on with the new tablet and came away with largely positive impressions of the device, with one of the only negatives being the large size of the device. At an unwieldy 12.9-inches, the consensus is that the iPad Pro may be too big for many users.
It’s certainly as crisp and sharp as any display I’ve ever seen. If Apple’s ultimate tablet goal is to build a piece of glass onto which you can project your hopes, dreams, and apps, the iPad Pro feels like a realization of that dream.
During the keynote, Apple execs talked a lot about how difficult this screen was to create—but you’d never know. It’s smooth and fast; in fact, every part of the iPad Pro is smooth and fast. The $99 Pencil stylus feels like a particular triumph: It is, bar none, the most fluid and lag-free stylus I’ve ever used.
The first big takeaway about the iPad Pro Wired noticed was that despite the tablet’s size, it’s surprisingly comfortable to hold in one hand. The site also noted that the new 2732×2048 resolution screen is “smooth and fast,” and gave particular praise to the $99 Apple Pencil accessory the company also debuted during today’s media event.
Still, despite its positives, Wired believes that using a tablet in the place of a desktop or laptop computer will always remain a lesser experience. They called some of the experience of iOS “clunky,” and were unsure of whether Microsoft’s new Word experience, shown off at the event as well, would actually be a selling point for the work-focused device.
The question will be, is it great for you? The iPad is still a tablet, and running iOS means it’s still going to be a little clunky—using Word, I found myself wishing I had all my keyboard and mouse shortcuts handy and didn’t have to keep picking up the Pencil or tapping the screen. And if we learned anything from the Surface, it’s that the world might not be ready for this type of device just yet.
Engadget also expressed surprise over the device’s lightness, noting that the iPad Pro felt “lighter than it looks,” but that in portrait mode, it can be a bit awkward and top-heavy. The site noted that the tablet’s other accessory, the Smart Keyboard, provided some decent travel when pressing the keys down and overall felt like a step above other keyboards bundled in third-party case sleeves.
I know we tech bloggers say this a lot in hands-on posts, but it feels lighter than it looks. That’s not to say I’d want to use this much in portrait mode; it feels a little too top-heavy in-hand. But in landscape, the height is actually on par with the iPad Air 2; it’s just wider. That makes it pretty manageable in horizontal use, which I suspect is how most iPad Pro-optimized apps were meant to be used anyway.
And what of that keyboard? It’s really too soon to put down a firm verdict, but tentatively, I like it. The cloth-covered keys feel nice beneath the fingers, and help give the illusion of control, despite the fact that these are otherwise some fairly flat buttons.
SlashGear called the iPad Pro “incredibly, vastly, ridiculously huge,” but that its thin size and easiness to hold gives it the feel of a science fiction “digital newspaper.” The site also called the four speakers on the device “laughably strong,” and appreciated that they automatically adjust and change when displaying the tablet’s orientation. Similar to other opinions, SlashGear‘s biggest negative on the tablet is more of a caveat: “it makes far more sense as a content creation tool than one for consumption.”
Everyone who wasn’t at Apple’s event will be able to see the iPad Pro for themselves when the device launches this November in Space Gray, Gold, and Silver color options. The new tablet will be priced at $749 (32GB) and $949 (128GB) for the Wi-Fi models, while a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular option will come in at $1,079.
AIVAnet 