Verizon Reverses Course on Plan to Throttle Unlimited LTE Customers [iOS Blog]

Verizon today released a statement letting customers know that it no longer plans to throttle users who still have a grandfathered unlimited data plan that allows for unlimited LTE data usage.

Verizon is committed to providing its customers with an unparalleled mobile network experience. At a time of ever-increasing mobile broadband data usage, we not only take pride in the way we manage our network resources, but also take seriously our responsibility to deliver exceptional mobile service to every customer. We’ve greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimization and we’ve decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans. Exceptional network service will always be our priority and we remain committed to working closely with industry stakeholders to manage broadband issues so that American consumers get the world-class mobile service they expect and value.

Verizon’s LTE data throttling, first announced in July, was set to go into effect today. It would have seen the top five percent of unlimited data users throttled at times of peak usage, which Verizon referred to as “Network Optimization.”

Verizon’s plan to throttle its customers sparked quite a bit of interest from the FCC, with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sending the carrier a letter saying he was “deeply troubled” by the decision. Wheeler also questioned the legality of Verizon’s throttling plans and though Verizon responded and its usage restrictions were permitted under current law, it appears the carrier has decided not to go through with its plans due to the response from both the FCC and its own customers.

While Verizon won’t be throttling high-usage LTE customers, it has long restricted 3G data usage for unlimited users. Other carriers, such as AT&T, have also implemented LTE usage restrictions for grandfathered unlimited plans, and while the FCC is now questioning all carriers on their network management policies, no other changes have been announced.

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Video Compares iPhone 6 Plus 802.11ac Wi-Fi Speeds to 802.11n iPhone 5s Speeds

Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are the first Apple mobile devices to come equipped with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which supports much faster data throughput speeds. 802.11ac Wi-Fi is able to offer connection speeds that are up to three times faster than existing 802.11n networks.

iClarified has created a new video that compares the Wi-Fi speeds of the iPhone 6 Plus, which supports 802.11ac, to the iPhone 5s, which supports 802.11n, when connected to an AirPort Extreme. The site also created a custom app for the test.

Both devices were freshly restored to iOS 8.0 and connected to the 2013 Apple AirPort Extreme. The router was placed 1.5 metres away from the smartphones and each iPhone was connected to the AirPort Extreme using a 5GHz-only network. No other devices were connected to the wireless network at the time of the test and the downloads were performed at separate times. We cut them together for comparison.

As expected, the iPhone 6 Plus sees much faster connection speeds that reach 278.5 Mbps, while the iPhone 5s tops out at approximately 101.1 Mbps. While speeds are improved in this test, the actual speeds that users see in the real world will vary based on connection strength and other factors, as an actual ISP connection is generally the limiting factor for speeds when connecting to the Internet. When an 802.11ac Wi-Fi network is available, however, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users should see significant speed improvements.

Along with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus offer several other connectivity improvements, including faster LTE with support for LTE Advanced and voice over LTE, which enables higher-quality phone calls. The iPhone 6 also supports calls over Wi-Fi, for access to high-quality voice connections even in areas where cellular connection is poor.

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Apple Updates ‘Apple Store’ App With iPhone 6 Support [iOS Blog]

Apple today updated its Apple Store app for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, adapting the app for the two larger-screened devices. The new version of the app also includes an iOS compatibility update.

While the iPhone 6 update doesn’t bring a lot of visual changes, it has a much cleaner look due to the fact that it’s no longer artificially zoomed in, as seen in the comparison screenshot below.

After iPhone 6 update on left, before iPhone 6 update on right
Apple’s last major update to the Apple Store app came in early September, redesigning the look of the app and making it easier for users to make purchases.

The Apple Store app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

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iOS 8 Causing Widespread Bluetooth Connectivity Issues in Cars

iOS 8 has caused significant issues for some people who connect their phones to their cars and other devices via Bluetooth, according to numerous reports on the Apple Support forums and MacRumors‘ own user forums. MacRumors has also been receiving complaints on a near daily basis about the ongoing Bluetooth problems that iOS 8 users are seeing.

It appears that after upgrading to iOS 8 or purchasing a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, users have trouble pairing their phones to their car audio systems. The devices are seeing several different issues, refusing to pair entirely, neglecting to play audio over the speakers, or disconnecting when a call comes in.

Now when I am connected via bluetooth, I place a call, and it says it’s going over bluetooth, but it doesn’t interrupt my car’s music, and the audio doesn’t play over the speakers. The only way I can talk to the person is if I press the Audio button on the phone and select speakerphone or iPhone as if it wasn’t connected to the car.

An ongoing thread on the MacRumors forums suggests that a wide range of different automobiles are having Bluetooth connectivity issues with devices running iOS 8 and iOS 8.0.2, including Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, and more.

The Bluetooth pairing problems are not limited to automobiles, as iOS 8 users have also reported issues pairing with headphones, speakers, headsets, and more.

According to one iPhone 6 owner experiencing issues, Apple support is aware of a compatibility issue between the Bluetooth “used on the iPhone 6 and some car/navigation Bluetooth.” Apple is said to be working on a fix for the issue, but in the meantime, some users have had temporary luck logging out of iCloud, forgetting connected Bluetooth devices, using the “Reset All Settings” and/or “Reset Network Settings” option on their iPhones and restarting, re-pairing their devices with their Bluetooth devices, and then logging back in to iCloud.

Attempting to use “Reset All Settings” should be done with caution, however, as some users have noticed that all of their iCloud Drive documents have gone missing after using the feature.

iOS 8 has not been Apple’s most stable release. The operating system has seen several issues, including a major HealthKit bug that caused the company to pull all HealthKit-enabled apps just ahead of the public release of iOS 8 and a significant issue with the iOS 8.0.1 update, which disabled the cellular connection and Touch ID of many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users.

iOS 8.0.2, released last week, fixed several major issues including the HealthKit bug, and Apple has plans to release another update in the near future, having already seeded iOS 8.1 to developers.

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Verizon Offers Double the Data for ‘MORE Everything’ Plans [iOS Blog]

Following in the footsteps of AT&T and Sprint, Verizon today announced a promotion to expand the amount data available through its MORE Everything plans.

Customers on the 12GB plan will now get 15GB of data for the same $110 per month, while customers on the 16GB plan will now get 30GB of data for $130. Verizon has increased available data across the board, delivering up to double the data for consumers at no additional cost.

“We know that no matter how much data you have, it’s only as good as the network it’s on, and Verizon Wireless’ network is second to none,” said Ken Dixon, chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless. “We know our customers — from families to businesses — crave more data to help them keep up with their busy lifestyles, and these new promotions, together with other offers like our industry-leading trade- in program, give them even more during the month of October.”

Customers will be able to get the expanded MORE Everything plans beginning on October 2, with customers able to sign up through October 31.

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Beats sues headphone startup CEO for saying he’s a co-founder

Beats isn’t happy that ROAM CEO Steven Lamar is taking credit for co-founding its headphone business and demanding extra royalties — it’s firing back with a lawsuit of its own. The Apple-owned company claims that Lamar “deliberately misrepresented” his involvement in its early days. He didn’t have an ownership role in the company, Beats says, and Jibe Audio (which Lamar once ran) reportedly wasn’t responsible for any aspects of its initial headphone designs. We’ve reached out to ROAM for Lamar’s response, although we can’t imagine that he’ll take the lawsuit lying down. Much of ROAM’s credibility is based on the connection to Beats, and it becomes just another audio company if it loses those bragging rights.

[Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images]

Beats Complaint Against Steven Lamar

http://www.scribd.com/embeds/241400798/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, HD, Apple

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Source: The Independent

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Sprint Responds to AT&T’s Promotion With Its Own Double Data Deal [iOS Blog]

Sprint today announced it is increasing data plan allowances for higher-tier customers in an attempt to compete with AT&T, which recently launched a new promotion that doubles the data available to some subscribers. Sprint also is waiving its existing monthly device access fee until 2015 for new customers. Sprint’s double data promotion is available to new and existing customers who sign up by October 31.

Sprint’s offer extends to its existing 32GB, 40GB and 60GB Family Share Packs, which cost $130, 150 and $225, respectively. Starting today, customers who sign up for the promotion will receive 60GB, 80GB, or 120GB of data at no extra cost. Similar increases are available to corporate customers on a Business Share plan. Customers can call Sprint customer care or visit a retail store to take advantage of this offer.

Sprint recently introduced its new Sprint Family Share Pack that allows customers to share data across multiple devices. Customers pay a fixed price for an allotment of data that is accessible by up to 10 devices. Besides the monthly data fee, customers also pay a monthly access fee for each device connected to the account. Each plan includes unlimited calling and messaging.

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iPhone 5c Topped UK Smartphone Sales Charts Ahead of iPhone 6 Launch [iOS Blog]

Smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech (via Business Insider) indicates consumer interest in the iPhone 5c remained strong in the UK ahead of the iPhone 6 announcement, with the lower-cost phone actually becoming the top-selling smartphone in the country for the month of August.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech
According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s share of smartphone sales in the UK fell just 1.6 percentage points between July and August, with strong sales of the iPhone 5c helping to prop up overall sales just ahead of the iPhone 6 launch.

Apple has managed to limit the drop this year with its share of sales dipping just 1.6 percentage points versus July this year – almost half the equivalent drop seen in 2013 ahead of the iPhone 5 launch. This has in part been achieved through focusing on the iPhone 5c which tends to attract a slightly less tech savvy buyer who will be less likely to be holding off for the iPhone 6. The iPhone 5c was the best selling phone in Britain in August with 8.9% share, outselling the flagship iPhone 5s with 7.6% and the Samsung Galaxy S5 with 6.0%.

This sales momentum for the iPhone 5c is not expected to impact future iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales, however, as an estimated four million iPhone owners — one-third of all iPhone owners in the UK — are eligible for upgrade this year.

Apple released the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last month, with strong consumer interest generating record-breaking pre-order and first weekend sales. Apple has struggled to supply enough handsets to meet consumer demand with shipping times slipping to seven to ten days for the iPhone 6 and three to four weeks for the 6 Plus.

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Jony Ive Discusses Steve Jobs and Apple Watch in Vogue Interview

Vogue editor Robert Sullivan today published a profile of Apple’s Jony Ive, documenting his rise from a small London design firm to become one of the most recognized and respected designers in the world. The life-changing moment happened when Ive met Steve Jobs and the two “just clicked.”

Ive talks about feeling a little apart, like Jobs. “When you feel that the way you interpret the world is fairly idiosyncratic, you can feel somewhat ostracized and lonely”—big laugh here—”and I think that we both perceived the world in the same way.”

In his time at Apple, Ive has led design efforts on a number of iconic products including the iMac, iPhone, MacBook Pro and most recently the Apple Watch, which the company unveiled alongside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and which Ive showed to Sullivan weeks before its public unveiling. Speaking about the Apple Watch, Ive hopes to rekindle interest in a device the smartphone threatens to make obsolete.

“It’s strange when you’ve been working on something for three years . . .” he says, shaking his head. He describes the trajectory of clocks to watches: from a public clock in a Bavarian square to timepieces owned by royalty, to military chronometers, to the watch’s arrival, only at the beginning of the twentieth century, on the wrist. “It’s fascinating how people struggled with wearing this incredibly powerful technology personally.” The cell phone, of course, killed the watch to some extent. Now he wants to reset the balance.

Ive’s emphasis with the Watch and all of his designs is simplicity. “Everything we’ve been trying to do,” he says, “it’s that pursuit of the very pure and very simple.” Ive also strives to foster an intimate connection between people and the technology they use, a philosophy that is apparent in the Apple Watch.

“You know how very often technology tends to inhibit rather than enable more nuanced, subtle communication?” he asks. This is the question that haunts the son of a craftsman: Is he making tools that improve the world or shut people down? “We spent a lot of time working on this special mechanism inside, combined with the built-in speaker” —he demonstrates on his wrist. You can select a chosen person, also wearing the watch, and transmit your pulse to them. “You feel this very gentle tap,” he says, “and you can feel my heartbeat. This is a very big deal, I think. It’s being able to communicate in a very gentle way.”

The full interview and profile is an interesting look at Ive, his design philosophy, and the Apple Watch. Ive’s careful design will be put to the test once again when the Apple Watch hits retail shelves early next year. The smartwatch will be available in a variety of configurations designed to appeal to athletes, fashionistas, and the everyday consumer.

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