iPad Air 2 Up to 55% Faster Than iPhone 6, Up to 68% Faster Than iPad Air

A short time ago, we highlighted a new benchmark appearing to show an iPad Air 2 device carrying an A8X chip with a triple-core 1.5 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM.

While we mentioned that the enhanced specs have led to huge performance gains compared to the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Primate Labs has now published a nice pair of charts showing just how dramatic this improvement really is, making the iPad Air 2 far and away the fastest iOS device ever.

The most striking improvement comes in the multi-score benchmarks, where the A8X with its three cores of processing power blows away the dual-core A8 found in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. As a result, the iPad Air 2 registers over 55 percent faster than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the multi-core benchmark. Comparing iPad to iPad, the A8X in the iPad Air 2 measures 68 percent faster than the A7 in last year’s iPad Air according to the multi-core benchmark.

The iPad Air 2 also sets new high scores in the single-core benchmarks thanks to the 1.5 GHz cores in the A8X, with much of the nearly 13 percent gain over the A8 coming from the 100 MHz speed improvement compared the 1.4 GHz cores found in the iPhone and 6 Plus. The iPad Air 2 of course also compares favorably to the original iPad Air, with single core scores up 23 percent.

MLB is bringing Apple Pay to the 2014 World Series

Tonight, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants will begin battling it out for Major League Baseball’s biggest prize: the World Series. And to make things better for ballpark attendees, MLB and MasterCard have announced that Kauffman Stadium (Royals) and AT&T Park (Giants) are going to support Apple Pay and other NFC-based payments throughout the series and beyond. Given how MLB usually adopts new technologies quickly, this shouldn’t come as a surprise — both stadiums are the first in sports to do this, and chances are the league will bring the feature to more places soon. While MasterCard and MLB are touting Apple Pay, the Cupertino company’s recently launched payment system for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, services like Google Wallet also work with the newly implemented terminals. Don’t worry, we know Google Wallet has been a thing for a while.

[Lead mage credit: Getty Images]

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Peripherals, Mobile, Apple

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Source: MasterCard

Apple Aware of iCloud Login Harvesting in China, Launches Browser Security Guide

Earlier this week, web censorship blog Great Fire suggested that hackers aligned with Chinese authorities were using man-in-the-middle attacks in order to harvest Apple ID information from Chinese users that visited Apple’s iCloud.com website.

In a newly released support document (via The Wall Street Journal), Apple has confirmed that it is aware of the “intermittent organized network attacks” on iCloud users, but says that its own servers have not been compromised.

Apple is deeply committed to protecting our customers’ privacy and security. We’re aware of intermittent organized network attacks using insecure certificates to obtain user information, and we take this very seriously. These attacks don’t compromise iCloud servers, and they don’t impact iCloud sign in on iOS devices or Macs running OS X Yosemite using the Safari browser.

Apple’s support document goes on to stress the importance of digital certificates, suggesting that users who see an invalid certificate warning in their browser while visiting iCloud.com should not proceed. The company also outlines how users can verify that their browser is connected to iCloud.com and not a third-party man-in-the-middle website.

Apple asks users to make sure that a green lock icon is visible in Safari and that the message “Safari is using an encrypted connection to http://www.icloud.com” is displayed when the lock icon is clicked. Apple also has verification instructions for both Chrome and Firefox.

Unfortunately, many of the victims falling prey to the fake iCloud sites are not using secure browsers that issue warnings when fake websites are visited. According to Great Fire, many Chinese users access the Internet through popular Chinese browser Qihoo, which does not let users know that a fake site is harvesting their information.

The attack works by redirecting Chinese users attempting to access iCloud.com to a fake website that resembles the iCloud website. Users that log into the fake site provide attackers with logins and passwords that can be used to access contacts, messages, photos, and documents stored within iCloud.

Though Great Fire has suggested that Chinese authorities may be involved in the attacks, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry (via CNBC) said that Beijing was “resolutely opposed” to hacking.

Chinese users should switch to a trusted browser like Firefox or Chrome to avoid falling prey to the fake iCloud.com website, or use a VPN to bypass the redirection and log in directly to iCloud.com. Two-factor authentication should also be turned on as it can prevent unauthorized users from logging into an iCloud account even when a username and password are obtained.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

High-End Retina 5K iMac Benchmarked Faster Than Low-End Mac Pro

Yesterday, Primate Labs highlighted some Geekbench 3 benchmarking results for the new 3.5 GHz 27-inch Retina 5K iMac, unsurprisingly showing the machine performing better than slower-clocked Core i5 chips in non-Retina models but below that of high-end Core i7 chips also available in the machines since their late 2013 introduction.

Primate Labs’ John Poole noted that once benchmarks for the high-end Retina 5K iMac with Intel’s 4.0 GHz Core i7-4790K chip started appearing, they could show the new iMac outperforming the low-end Mac Pro, and that is indeed the case as revealed today and highlighted in an updated version of Poole’s blog post from yesterday.

The 4.0 GHz Retina 5K iMac clocks in with a score of 4438 on the single-core 64-bit benchmarking test, while multi-core testing achieves a score of 16407. Across the two tests, the new high-end Retina iMac scores 11-13 percent higher than the fastest non-Retina model due to the faster processor included on the Retina model.

Compared to the low-end Mac Pro, which runs on a quad-core 3.7 GHz Xeon E5-1620 v2, the high-end Retina iMac clocks in over 13 percent higher on multi-core testing, although it is unsurprisingly outclassed by higher-level Mac Pro models carrying processors with more cores.

Both Retina iMac processor options outperform all Mac Pro models on single-core benchmarks, but this is unsurprising as the Xeon processors used in the Mac Pro sacrifice single-core clock speed for many more cores and other benefits that enhance performance for professional-level applications that can take advantage of the multiple cores.

Buyer’s Guide Deals: Discounts on the Original iPad Air and iPad Mini 2 [iOS Blog]

With the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 set to hit stores any day now, retailers have begun offering some discounts on the previous-generation iPad Air and Retina iPad mini 2, especially on higher-capacity models that have been discontinued.

On its own website, Apple offers the original iPad Air in 16 and 32GB capacities only, with prices at $399 and $449, respectively, for Wi-Fi models, and $529/$579 for Wi-Fi+ Cellular models. The same is true for the iPad mini 2, which is available in 16 and 32GB capacities at $299/$349 for Wi-Fi and $429/$479 for Wi-Fi + Cellular.

Retailers are not offering discounts on the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 models that Apple continues to sell, but the discontinued higher capacity 64 and 128GB models are available at lower prices. Customers who don’t care about Touch ID or the new features in the iPad Air 2 but want more storage capacity will be able to get a solid deal on an older-generation model.

iPad Air

The Wi-Fi only 64GB iPad Air in Space Gray can be purchased for $499 from Best Buy, as can the 64GB Silver Wi-Fi model. The Wi-Fi only 128GB iPad Air in Silver can be purchased from B&H Photo for $599.

Several sites are also offering deals on the higher-capacity Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad Air models. The 64GB Cellular iPad Air in Silver from AT&T is available for $599 from Adorama. The 64GB Cellular iPad Air in Space Gray from AT&T is also available for $599, from Amazon, Adorama, and B&H Photo.

Verizon models are slightly more expensive, with both the 64GB Silver Cellular iPad and 64GB Space Gray iPad available for $629 from Best Buy.

The 128GB Cellular iPad Air in Silver from AT&T is available for $829.99 from Best Buy and the 128GB Space Gray AT&T Cellular iPad is available for $699 from Adorama, a hefty discount of $230 off the original price.

128GB models from Verizon are priced similarly, with the 128GB Silver version available from Adorama for $699 and the Space Gray version available for $729 from B&H Photo.

iPad mini 2

Higher-capacity iPad mini 2 models are also available at steep discounts, and these iPads are a particularly good deal as the only difference between the mini 2 and the mini 3 is Touch ID and a gold color option.

The 64GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 2 in Silver is available for $399 from Best Buy and Adorama. The Space Gray Wi-Fi only iPad mini 2 is also available for $399 from Best Buy and Adorama.

The 128GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 2 in Silver is available for $499 from Best Buy, while the Space Gray version is available for $499 from Best Buy and Adorama.

The 64GB AT&T Cellular iPad mini 2 in Silver is available for $529.99 from Best Buy, while the Space Gray model is available for $529.99 from Best Buy, Amazon, and Adorama.

64GB Verizon Cellular iPad mini 2 models in Silver are available for $529.99 from Best Buy and the Space Gray model is available from Best Buy for the same price.

The 128GB Cellular AT&T iPad mini 2 in Silver is available for $629 from Amazon and Adorama. The AT&T Space Gray model in 128GB is also available for $629 from Amazon and Adorama.

The 128GB Cellular Verizon iPad mini 2 in silver is available for $629 from Adorama. The Space Gray version is also available for $629 from Best Buy and Adorama.

Trade-ins

Though sites have not yet begun offering discounts on the current-generation iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, Best Buy is accepting older iPads as trade-ins towards the cost of a new iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3. The company is guaranteeing a minimum of $175 towards the iPad mini 3 with the trade in of an iPad 2 or newer, and a minimum of $200 towards the iPad Air 2 with the trade in of an iPad 2 or newer.

There are several other sites that allow users to send in their older iPads for cash that can be used towards the purchase of a new iPad, including Gazelle, Amazon, Target, Glyde, and more.

It remains unclear when the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 will be available in stores, but Apple continues to offer pre-orders for the devices on its website, with prices beginning at $499 and $399, respectively.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

The Pokemon Company Releases Second Official Pokemon Game for iOS [iOS Blog]

The Pokemon Company today released Camp Pokemon, an official Pokemon game that stars real Pokemon characters. Because the game is aimed at kids between 6 and 8 years of age, it’s unlikely to be of interest to adults, but it does suggest The Pokemon Company is committed to bringing Pokemon games to iOS.

In Camp Pokemon, kids are tasked with exploring an island “filled with fun Pokemon-themed activities” that include searching for Pokemon to earn pins and playing a variety of Pokemon mini games to earn rewards.

– Find the Pokémon: Use a spyglass to search for virtual Pokémon and earn their Pins. Earn Rewards to unlock new levels and search for other Pokémon in different environments.
– Poké Ball Throw: Launch Poké Balls at cardboard cutouts of Pokémon hiding in the grass and knock them down. Earn Rewards to unlock the Rock and Water environments.
– Pokémon Evolutions: Test your knowledge of Pokémon Evolutions by choosing the correct Pokémon missing from the Evolution chain.
– Battle Matchups: Practice type matchups, an important skill in Pokémon battles, by choosing which type is strong against the given Pokémon.
– Pokémon in Focus: Choose the Pokémon that matches the shadow projected on the tent.
– My Cabin: In this home base, campers can find their Pin Book, Photo Book, and Bulletin Board.
– Photo Booth: Create camp memories by taking photos with the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch camera, adding stickers to the images, and saving the pictures to the app’s Photo Book or the Camera Roll on the camper’s device.
– Mystery Cave: What could be hiding in the Mystery Cave? To find out, campers will need to earn the right to enter!

As noted by our sister site TouchArcade, Camp Pokemon is going to be a “snooze-fest” for adults, but it makes it “obvious that The Pokemon Company is serious about iOS,” hinting that additional Pokemon games could come to iOS in the future.

Along with Camp Pokemon, The Pokemon Company also released Pokemon TCG Online on iOS in late September, bringing the card trading game to the iPad for the first time. Pokemon TCG was the first official Pokemon game to be released on iOS.

Camp Pokemon is a free app for the iPad and iPhone and can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Pokemon TCG Online is a free app the iPad and can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple Reportedly Preparing Holiday Launch of Apple Pay Loyalty Rewards Program

Apple may have its rumored loyalty rewards program ready for the holiday shopping season, claims Bank Innovation. The loyalty program originally was thought to be launching alongside “Apple Pay 2.0″ in October 2015, but recent reports suggest Apple may be pushed it ahead by a year due to merchant demand.

The loyalty program looks like it will come this year, based on Digiday’s timetable. This was unexpected — many had assumed the program would wait until the launch of Apple Pay 2.0, tentatively scheduled for October 2015. It looks like market demand pushed the timetable up to this holiday season, which my sources within the retail industry have said for sme time is “super unlikely.”

A previous report from Digiday, described as being “pretty accurate” by Bank Innovation sources, claims Apple plans to monetize its mobile payment system by integrating iAds with Apple Pay. This iAds portion of the loyalty system allegedly will use iBeacons and Bluetooth LE to push targeted ads with a “tap-to-buy” button to customers while they are visiting a participating merchant.

One way they’ve [Apple] thought up is, say you’re in a Duane Reade, hypothetically. You get a push notification from Pepsi that they’ve worked out a deal with Duane Reade that you can get a free case of Pepsi. Just pick it up and use Apple Pay at the counter.

Apple Pay officially launched yesterday and is compatible with major payment network, including American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. In-store NFC payments will require the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, while those devices and the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 will be able to make online purchases with Apple Pay.

T-Mobile to Offer $0 Down iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3 Pre-Orders Tomorrow [iOS Blog]

T-Mobile today announced plans to begin accepting pre-orders for the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 on Wednesday, October 22, offering its 16GB entry-level models for $0 down and $26.24 per month for qualified Simple Choice customers.

T-Mobile’s customers who have a Simple Choice plan can add a tablet to their plan for $10 per month, getting up to 5GB of data based on their existing plan.

The company has set up pre-registration pages for the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3, letting customers sign up to be notified via email when the tablets become available for pre-order. As outlined by Tmonews, here are the planned prices for the Cellular + WiFi tablets the company will offer to consumers:

iPad Air 2 pricing
16GB – $0 down, 24 monthly payments of $26.24
64GB – $99 down, 24 monthly payments of $26.24
128GB – $199 down, 24 monthly payments of $26.24

iPad mini 3 pricing
16GB – $0 down, 24 monthly payments of $22.08
64GB – $99 down, 24 monthly payments of $22.08
128GB – $199 down, 24 monthly payments of $22.08

While T-Mobile will begin accepting pre-orders on October 22, it remains unclear when the tablets will actually be available in stores for purchase. According to T-Mobile, regular sales of the iPad will kick off “within a week.”