New A9-Based 4-Inch iPhone to Replace iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
Apple’s next-generation 4-inch iPhone is more likely to include variants of the A9 and M9 motion coprocessor chips, allowing for always-on Hey Siri, according to 9to5Mac.
The report claims the so-called “iPhone 5se” will likely replace the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Apple’s fall 2016 smartphone lineup, while the iPhone 5s will then be discontinued.
Because the iPhone 7 will include a faster chip potentially known as the A10 processor, Apple likely does not want its new 4-inch iPhone to fall two processor generations behind in just six months.
9to5Mac and other sources originally expected the new 4-inch iPhone to have an A8 chip with M8 motion coprocessor, but Chinese website MyDrivers last week said the device will have an A9 chip instead. Apple has allegedly tested multiple prototypes with both A8 and A9 chipsets, likely fueling the conflicting reports.
Today’s report also claims the new 4-inch iPhone will have 16GB and 64GB storage models available, which again corroborates Chinese website MyDrivers. Other possible specs reported elsewhere include a 1,624 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.2, Apple Pay, VoLTE and 802.11ac WiFi, but 3D Touch appears unlikely.
The next-generation 4-inch iPhone reportedly entered mass production last week, ahead of a rumored March event announcement, alongside the iPad Air 3 and Apple Watch updates including new bands and possibly other minor improvements. The smartphone is expected to ship in late March or early April.
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Leaked Photo of Alleged 4-Inch iPhone Resembles iPhone 6
Following reports that Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone in March or April, a user named Gijs Raggers has shared a photo of the alleged smartphone next to an iPhone 5 on Dutch website One More Thing. The photo was posted on the website’s discussion forums, where anyone can sign up and contribute.
The purported 4-inch iPhone appears to be the same size as the iPhone 5, but otherwise looks identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s externally, including its curved glass edges, thinner bezels, relocated FaceTime camera, pill-shaped volume buttons and power button moved to the right side.
Leaked photo of purportedly new 4-inch iPhone to the right of an iPhone 5
The veracity of the photo cannot be confirmed, but Gijs Raggers previously leaked photos of the original iPad Air in August 2013, nearly three months before the tablet was announced. Many other photos and videos of the tablet surfaced around the same time, however, so take that as you will.
While most rumors suggest the new 4-inch iPhone’s upgraded tech specs will be similar to the iPhone 6, including A8 and M8 chips, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and NFC for Apple Pay, the photo conflicts with reports claiming the device will look similar to the last-generation iPhone 5s design.
Ideally, what size iPhone screen will your next one be?
— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) January 24, 2016
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIt also sounds questionable for Apple to call its new 4-inch iPhone the “iPhone 5se” if the device truly resembles an iPhone 6. That may very well be the name, but the oft-rumored “iPhone 6c” name, or even the “iPhone 6 mini” name suggested in our forums, would seem to be more fitting name choices in that scenario.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a note to investors today, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, in which he reaffirmed Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone and iPad Air 3 in the first half of 2016. Both devices, and new Apple Watch bands, could be introduced at a March media event in San Francisco.
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New Apple Store Set to Open in China’s Largest Luxury Shopping Mall
Apple has announced that its 31st retail store in China will open in Qingdao, a port city bordering the East China Sea, on Saturday, January 30 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store will be located in the new MixC luxury shopping mall, the largest in China, on 6 Shandong Road in the city’s coastal Shinan District.
A render of the MixC shopping mall in Qingdao, China
MixC Qingdao is an expansive plaza with over 400 popular fashion stores, dining restaurants, cafes and entertainment facilities, including an indoor theme park with a rollercoaster. The mall also includes an Olympic size ice skating rink and the most expensive cinema in China with IMAX and 4D.
The new store will be open between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time on weekdays, and between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on weekends.
Apple has aggressively expanded in China under the leadership of retail chief Angela Ahrendts, with new stores in Xiamen on January 14, Shenyang on January 9, Nanning on December 12, Beijing on November 28 and Chengdu on November 21. Apple also opened stores in Chongqing, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing and Tianjin in 2015.
China is Apple’s second biggest market by total revenue after the Americas. The company experienced 99% year-over-year revenue growth in Greater China, which includes China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2015. China will likely eclipse the U.S. as Apple’s biggest market by 2017 if the growth continues.
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Samsung needs to make radical changes to revitalize its Galaxy lineup
Samsung still dominates the Android smartphone market with its Galaxy S series and Note line. But the once powerhouse has been slipping and has changed upper management a couple of times in order to revive its mobile lineup. Last year brought on a revolutionary change for Samsung where they sacrificed expandable memory and a replaceable battery for an all metal and glass build. While that pleased many, it also angered fans like me who prefers functionality over high quality materials. And since then, Samsung changes its upper management again signaling a failure in last year’s lineup.
16GB of memory isn’t enough for most when 5-7GB of that “16GB” is already being used before you turn your phone on. Paying another $100 for an additional 16GB memory is a joke when you can buy a 32GB card from Amazon for $10. Many people still use their Galaxy Note 3, Note 4, S3 and S4, and having a replaceable battery is vital to maintaining power throughout the day. Batteries for those phones are $10 or less and if you have taken care of your phone, the only item you would need to replace is the battery as they have a maximum amount of recharge cycles.
Samsung claims to have “cut back” on the level of modifications to Android with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note5. This simply was not true. All of those modifications require more power, faster processors and more RAM. Those additional TouchWiz features also cause long term stability issues and slow Samsung from releasing major software updates like Android M. No one knows when they’re really going to get Android M especially when you add on carrier customizations and added level of updates. TouchWiz is still in full effect on current Galaxy phones, but Samsung got slightly better about hiding them.
What Samsung needs to do in order to regain and also add new customers
LG and Huawei are looking to kick Samsung’s butt this year. So is Apple with a complete redesign in its iPhone 7. Samsung needs to go beyond the build materials this time around and actually give users value, updates, affordable accessories, and top level customer service.
Get rid of TouchWiz and stop letting carriers add bloat
Kill TouchWiz. Don’t mess with us anymore and tell us you scaled it back. Just kill it and start over. Follow Motorola’s lead and just give select useful features. No one uses 95% of the junk you install on the phones especially when they are duplicates of Google Play apps. S-Voice, Galaxy App Store, annoying sounds, ugly looks all need to go bye-bye. The investment on wasted duplication software can’t be spent better else where. It’s not only a waste of money, but it is a waste of performance and space.
Keep it simple. All of those TouchWiz additions help contribute to memory issues, overheating, lag, and poor performance. When we pay for 3 or 4GB of RAM, and the fastest Exynos processor according to benchmarks, we expect it to be fast. We don’t want that extra money to be spent on compensating for the terrible software Samsung overlays onto Android. Both the Nexus 6P and 5X outperform Galaxy devices because the software is unadulterated and both devices have far inferior internals.
Samsung also needs to stop letting carriers add in their bloatware. On AT&T, Samsung lets AT&T install over 25 apps that can be disabled, but not deleted, and it wastes over 1.5GB of memory. And to make matters worse, AT&T has to update Samsung’s update to, Google’s update which means the flagships from Samsung regularly take six to twelve months just to get a major update.
Give us our value back in our hardware
Samsung charges the most of all Android manufacturers for its devices, and has set the standard for $650-800 smartphones, but are regularly cutting back on features. Samsung needs to bring back replaceable batteries. And Samsung also needs to bring back microSD card slots, especially when the base model Galaxy S6 only has 16GB of memory. Sure the Nexus 5X has a fixed amount of memory, but it only costs $350 versus $650 of the S6 edge. And the Nexus 5X isn’t the flagship, instead it is a mid-range smartphone.
Samsung also needs to put wireless chargers and headphones “in the box” to give more value. Headphones are vital to most people and it shouldn’t have to be an additional cost when they used to be provided for free. Only Apple truly sticks to giving its customers headphones. Wireless charging technology is here, especially with Samsung devices, and it is time they start coming free in the box too. Flagship prices deserve flagship accessories. The Nexus 6P handily beat the Note5 and S6 in reviews this year, but costs over $200 less which means they have money in the mark-up to give us more. The Nexus 6P even came with USB Type-C which is better than micro USB in every way.
Set up hardware repair centers
Without a doubt, Apple kicks every other manufacturer’s bum when it comes to customer service. Apple retail stores are more than just sales centers. Educational and tutorial classes are offered, and a repair center is there in the store to fix broken screens and bad batteries. It’s one of the main reasons why Apple keeps its customers happy, because they don’t have to be without a phone and can have it fixed within minutes.
Samsung already has stores within Best Buy stores so all it needs to do is invest a little more into taking care of its customers. I have heard way too times why people switched from their Samsung device to an iPhone because there were too many problems that they didn’t know how to fix. As an Android enthusiast, I know if these people had access to experts like Apple offers, their problems could be fixed in minutes too. And that would bring customers back.
Mentality Shift
If Samsung can switch its mentality to, “what can I give to the customer” instead of “what can I take”, all of these changes will come naturally. Arguably, the Samsung Galaxy S3 was its best Samsung phone ever. Since then most of its phones have been great, but they are loaded with issues. Galaxies run well for about a year and then after that you need to upgrade your device. The S3 on the other hand lasted well over two years for many, and that quality stemmed from a mentality of trying to give the customers what they want versus how much profit can be made.
Android enthusiasts are smart enough to see past the all glass and metal build, and want Samsung to go beyond and think harder. Kill Touchwiz and reinvent the overlay on Android. Give headphones, wireless chargers, replaceable batteries and expandable memory. When the Galaxy phones cost so much that you can only afford to replace them once every two years, those types of things matter. And spend a little more to improve customer service which is a must have in today’s day and age.
The post Samsung needs to make radical changes to revitalize its Galaxy lineup appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple and Google surprise Daimler with their progress on cars
You’d think that the head of Daimler would have little to worry about from Silicon Valley right now given his company’s technological progress, but there is apparently a good reason to be nervous. CEO Dieter Zetsche tells Welt am Sonntag that a visit to tech companies in the Valley left Daimler convinced that Apple and Google “can do more and know more” about cars than previously thought. That’s no mean feat when Google’s self-driving car efforts are still rough around the edges, and Apple hasn’t even acknowledged its plans — what do you know that we don’t, Dieter? He’s glad that the companies have “more respect” for Daimler’s work than he suspected, but something tells us that Mercedes-Benz will be stepping up its game regardless.
This wasn’t just a whistle stop tour, though. Zetsche added that he and a managerial team met 70 Silicon Valley companies during their trip, and there were “concrete talks” with at least some of those firms. In other words, it won’t be shocking if the folks in Stuttgart forge a few tech-driven partnerships in the near future.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Michael Probst]
Source: Reuters
The Android Apple Music App: Good looking, but like the iPhone lacks features and value (App Review)
Apple is notorious for locking down its software and ecosystem by keeping things all to themselves. Apple doesn’t readily share its software and for the most part and has only released three apps into the Google Play Store, one of which is a very poorly two star rated Move to iOS app. A change occurred last year when Apple decided to release its music app, in beta form, to Android users where it offered a free 90-day subscription.
Naturally being a huge fan of music, and intrigued by Apple joining Android, I decided to give the Apple Music app a try. And for the last month I’ve realized the app is representative of what an iPhone is – good looking, over-priced, and definitely lacking in features.
Description
Apple Music was released to the Google Play Store in November of 2015. Apple has decided to call it a beta release, seemingly as an excuse to make up for its shortcomings on Android devices. At $9.99 Apple Music is identically priced to Google Play Music, but offers a smaller library at 30 million songs to Google’s 35 million.
Google and Apple both released Family Subscription plans last year, where you can pay just $14.99 for unlimited music streaming and downloading for a household of six. Pathetically, if you do subscribe to Apple Music on Android and want to join as a family, you’ll need to a Mac OS computer or iOS device.
Apple Music description from the Google Play Store
In order to use the Apple Music App, you will need to create an Apple ID just to get started. The app will not let you past the sign in page to access free music without going through the painstaking process of dropping in your credit card information just for a free trial. You will need to give your full address, credit card information and phone number just to be able to listen to music. And you cannot use other payment services like your Google Wallet or Paypal. Just to start using the app is a painful process.
Just like the iOS app, Apple Music for Android is full of musical recommendations, human-curated playlists and radio. You can create your own playlists and access music you’ve purchased through iTunes on the My Music page. You can download songs, playlists and full albums for offline listening when you don’t have a connection. The Connect tab lets you follow your favorite artists and see photos, songs and other updates they share.
Like other music streaming apps, Apple Music does have human-curated playlists and radio stations. And like other subscription based services, you are free to create your own playlists and download music for off-line use.
Usage
I am a subscriber to TIDAL which offers true HiFi audio that streams at much higher bit-rates than anything else available. The main downside to TIDAL is its much smaller library of music.
I’m also a subscriber to Google Play Music which offers a family plan that doesn’t require an iOS device, includes a free subscription to YouTube Red and allows me access to over 35 million songs. Being a subscriber to both of these services gives me a good foundation for what a good music streaming app should be.
When I first installed the Apple Music app on my Android device, I was hoping to get started by just downloading the app. I was annoyed that I had to go through the entire sign-up process – luckily I had an Apple ID from my iPhone days, but I still had to type in all of my information again like my address and credit card information. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just login with my Apple ID and get going. The sign process is downright cumbersome.
Moving past the sign-up process and getting into the app was a pleasant experience. Apple Music, while being a tad busy looking, is still really good looking. The images it uses are very clear and the layout looks great.
Once I started to use the app I noticed that the app severely lagged at times when trying to load my downloaded playlists. It didn’t do it all of the time, but you can definitely tell Apple Music for Android is still in beta form. I experienced app crashes too – I gave the app a spin on my Nexus 6P, Note5 and LG V10 so there would be no performance issues blamed on hardware. I was also very disappointed to learn that I could not stream music to my Chromecasts I have setup on my TV and home stereo system.
A feature that I am a huge fan of on all mobile devices is the ability to use voice control, especially while driving or when cooking. Voice control is an absolute must have feature. Apple Music for Android is missing any voice control or the ability to even search the library with voice commands. You can’t even use Google’s voice recognition system in the Apple Music app which is mind boggling.
When it came to music, I could select and listen to most songs that I already have on my other subscription services. In that sense, Apple Music performed as described where it at least delivered music to my smartphone.
Other than the superficial aspect of the app, Apple Music failed to win me over in anyway. Instead it just validated what I think of the Apple iPhone – it looks great, does a “good enough” job, lacks features, and is highly over-priced.
What I liked
- The look and layout of the app
What I didn’t like
- Sign up process
- Smaller library than Google Play Music
- No integration to the Chromecast
- Lack of HiFi audio
- Inability to install on Nexus 9
- App slowness and crashes
- Lack of music videos
Summary
Apple Music for Android is a pathetic attempt by Apple for sharing its software with Android. It lacks features, is highly over priced for what you get, and offers no additional features over Google Play Music or Spotify. You don’t even get music videos with a full subscription to Apple Music, which is a feature found on other music streaming services. Apple’s music app is so bad it almost seems like it was intended to be that way as an insult to Android users. I honestly hope Apple sticks to keeping its software to themselves and staying within its own ecosystem if its going to give us inadequate attempts like Apple Music.
For now, I will be cancelling my subscription before Apple charges me $9.99. I do not recommend the Apple Music app.
Google Play Store – LINK
The post The Android Apple Music App: Good looking, but like the iPhone lacks features and value (App Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
How to Reset Apple’s Thunderbolt Display
Apple’s Thunderbolt Display, for myriad reasons, may not display an image from your Mac, recognize USB peripherals, connect to Ethernet, or power on whatsoever.
In many cases, the display is not broken. Before contacting Apple, follow these troubleshooting steps to see if you can reset your Thunderbolt Display. Read more 
Apple Pay Gains Over 50 New U.S. Banks and Credit Unions
Apple updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list today with 51 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has over 950 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future.
The newly added Apple Pay participating issuers are reflected below, although it’s worth noting that some banks, credit unions and financial institutions listed may have already had support for the contactless payments service and are only now being reflected on Apple’s website.
The full list of new Apple Pay participating issuers:
- Achieve Financial Credit Union
- Advantage Federal Credit Union
- Alloy Federal Credit Union
- Altoona First Savings Bank
- Altura Credit Union
- Amalgmated Bank of Chicago
- Associated Credit Union of Texas
- Bank of Ann Arbor
- Beehive Federal Credit Union
- Brand Banking Company
- Business Bank of St. Louis
- Capitol Credit Union
- Charlotte State Bank & Trust
- Citizens Bank (AL)
- Citizens Savings Bank
- Community Credit Union
- Credit Union of Texas
- Earthmover Credit Union
- Employment Security Credit Union
- Family Trust Federal Credit Union
- First Community Bank of Beemer
- First Interstate Bank
- First Service Federal Credit Union
- First State Community Bank
- Fort Community Credit Union
- Georgia Bank and Trust
- HomeStar and Financial Services
- Houston Highway Credit Union
- IDB-IIC Federal Credit Union
- Katahdin Federal Credit Union
- Lion’s Share Federal Credit Union
- Mainstreet Community Bank of Florida
- Marine Bank & Trust
- Marine Federal Credit Union
- Monona State Bank
- Navy Army Community Credit Union
- Northway Bank
- Plaza Park State Bank
- Reliant Community Credit Union
- Security Bank and Trust Company
- Silver State Schools Credit Union
- Spencer County Bank
- Summit Community Bank
- Sundance State Bank
- The Commerce Bank of Washington
- Tioga State Bank
- Torrance Community Credit Union
- Total Community Credit Union
- Triangle Credit Union
- United Community Bank
- USNY Bank
Apple is committed to an international expansion of Apple Pay, having launched the mobile payments service in Australia and Canada in November in partnership with American Express. Apple Pay is also coming to Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain this year, and the service will launch in China in early 2016 in partnership with UnionPay.
Apple Pay gained support for BJ’s Wholesale Club private label credit cards and 66 new U.S. issuers on December 15, plus nearly another 60 issuers on January 5. On the merchant side, Cinnabon, Chili’s, Domino’s, KFC and Starbucks will support Apple Pay in the U.S. starting this year.
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WSJ: Apple’s ‘Titan’ car project loses its leader
Apple has allegedly been working on its own version of the electric/autonomous car for the past few years. Unfortunately, ‘Project “Titan’ leader, Steve Zadesky is leaving the company for personal reasons according to the WSJ. Zadesky, a 16-year veteran of the company, worked on the iPhone and iPod before taking charge of Apple’s super-secret (but not really that secret because we all know) car division. Before joining the tech company, he worked at Ford.
Apple has been hiring scores of automotive engineers from Tesla, Mercedes Benz and others to bulk up its yet-to-be announced automotive division. The company reportedly has a ship date of 2019. But, as the WSJ notes, that timeframe could be an internal one and not when the vehicle will be available to the general public.
Whatever the reason for Zadesky’s eventual departure, it’ll be a blow to the company. Getting into the automotive world from scratch is tough enough. Losing the person that tried to make that a reality, is going to make it even tougher.
[Image credit: Getty/AFP]
Source: Wall Street Journal
WSJ: Apple’s ‘Titan’ car project loses its leader
Apple has allegedly been working on its own version of the electric/autonomous car for the past few years. Unfortunately, ‘Project “Titan’ leader, Steve Zadesky is leaving the company for personal reasons according to the WSJ. Zadesky, a 16-year veteran of the company, worked on the iPhone and iPod before taking charge of Apple’s super-secret (but not really that secret because we all know) car division. Before joining the tech company, he worked at Ford.
Apple has been hiring scores of automotive engineers from Tesla, Mercedes Benz and others to bulk up its yet-to-be announced automotive division. The company reportedly has a ship date of 2019. But, as the WSJ notes, that timeframe could be an internal one and not when the vehicle will be available to the general public.
Whatever the reason for Zadesky’s eventual departure, it’ll be a blow to the company. Getting into the automotive world from scratch is tough enough. Losing the person that tried to make that a reality, is going to make it even tougher.
[Image credit: Getty/AFP]
Source: Wall Street Journal
AIVAnet 