Tuesday, May 31, 2016

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Analyst sees Apple finally dropping much-loathed 16GB iPhone from lineup

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Apple can be finally ditching the oft-criticized sixteen-gigabyte iPhaone from the combo and replace it with a 32 GB SKU because the new baseline model. That’s if you think what associate degree IHS Technology analyst denote on Chinese social media this morning, as per 9to5Mac.
Based on IHS’s provide chain analysis, the analysts wrote that the iPhone seven would come back outfitted with thirty two gigabytes of storage because the new $199 base model. IHS properly foretold that a four-inch iPhone refresh would be introduced in 2016.
The analyst conjointly same that the iPhone seven would feature 2 gigabytes of RAM while not specifying whether or not or not the flagship iPhone seven and model would come with 3 gigabytes of RAM, as KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo foretold.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei created a motivating claim these days, locution that Apple would switch from a tick-tock cycle of refreshing the iPhone each 2 years to a three-year cycle, as a result of deceleration smartphone market and innovation.
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Thursday, May 26, 2016

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Patent troll wants Apple to shut down iMessage and FaceTime

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After winning a patent case, VirnetX asked the judge to order Apple to stop using technology inside its iOS and Mac chat apps.


For some firms, winning $625 million from Apple isn't enough of a gift.

On Wednesday, VirnetX asked a Lone-Star State choose to order Apple to stop working iMessage and FaceTime whereas their patent case goes to charm. Previously, VirnetX was awarded $625 million within the case once it convinced the jury that Apple committed violation. If the choose grants the injunction, Apple are going to be forced to either suspend iMessage and FaceTime or realize a unpunctual workaround to the proprietary technology.

One of the patents in question involves establishing secure communications through net domain names. In soliciting for the injunction, VirnetX argued that though forcing a corporation to stop working 2 of its most well liked services could appear excessive, it’s necessary as a result of the infringement has done “irreparable harm” to VirnetX.

In 2012, VirnetX was awarded $368 million in damages in a {very} very similar case against Apple. In 2014, VirnetX was on the verge of winning a royalty of one % of all iPhone and iPad sales. However, each the $368 million and also the iPhone royalty were upset on charm.

Apple has antecedently told Fortune that it believes VirnetX’s claims to the patent is invalid, which this proceedings solely echoes “the desperate would like for patent reform.”

VirnetX has been labeled  as a “patent troll,” or a lawyer-led company that just exists to accumulate phony patents to require larger firms to court and find hefty settlements. Naturally, VirnetX’s CEO rejects this label.

Why this matters: though injunctions throughout violation cases don't seem to be uncommon, they need decrease frequent since a 2006 Supreme Court call in favor of eBay. If the Lone-Star State judges follows that SCOTUS call, it’s unlikely that AN injunction are going to be granted.

Because VirnetX’s previous multimillion-dollar win was upset on charm, the corporate is also victimization this injunction to stop that from happening again—basically to scare Apple far from contesting the $625 million call.
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Thursday, May 12, 2016

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Apple could terminate iTunes music downloads within two years [updated]

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Apple is preparing to completely terminate music downloads in the iTunes Store, reportsDigital Music News. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet says an aggressive, two-year timetable to switch completely to streaming music is gaining traction within the company.
Hedging on its claim, the site also says other shutdown plans are being considered, including one that would see the iPhone-maker offer music downloads for another 3-4 years. Regardless, executives have agreed that keeping downloads running forever is no longer on the table.
Part of the debate is that paid music downloads still account for hundreds of millions of dollars to Apple, worldwide.  According to an estimate revealed by music industry analyst Mark Mulligan at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, iTunes music downloads will still be worth an estimated $600 million in 2019, though that is down from peak revenues from $3.9 billion in 2012.
Admittedly, it’d be nice to see Apple phase out music downloads. It’s pretty clear that streaming is the way of the future, and it would make iTunes and Music apps less confusing. But it’s hard to imagine Apple, who practically created digital music downloads, getting rid of them by 2018.
First there’s the money. As aforementioned, this is still expected to be a $600 million business in 2019. Even for a company as big as Apple, that’s a lot to just toss out the window. Then you have to think about other issues like offline playback and what users will do with purchased music.
What do you think? Could Apple really get rid of music downloads within two years?
Update: An Apple representative has issued a statement to Recode, denying the above report.
“Not true,” says Apple rep Tom Neumayr. Neumayr wouldn’t expand on that comment, except to make it clear that he was responding to both timelines proposed in today’s story from Digital Music News.
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Yet another member of original Siri team leaves Apple

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Yet another member of the original Siri team, Darren Haas, has left Apple. The Informationreports that Haas, one of the last remaining team members that came over to Apple in the Siri acquisition, has left the company for General Electric. He’ll join Steve D’Aurora, another Siri team member who also left Apple for GE a few weeks ago.
The pair of departures come amidst reports that Apple’s efforts to move its cloud infrastructure in-house has been slowed by “political infighting” between the company’s iCloud and Siri engineering teams. Haas was Apple’s “head of cloud engineering,” and The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the fighting could cause him to resign.
Further highlighting the company’s Siri woes, earlier this week Siri co-founders Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer unveiled a new digital assistant called Viv. It has “the spontaneity and knowledge base of a human assistant,” and supports third-party services like Uber and GrubHub, allowing you to complete complex tasks without leaving the app.
Apple is expected to talk about the future of Siri, along with iOS and OS X, at WWDC next month.
Source: The Information
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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

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7 Favorite iPhone 3D Touch Tricks

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When Apple introduced iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with the 3D Touch as one of the tentpole features, I was quite excited.
Apple had revolutionalised user interface on mobile devices with multi-touch with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, and it felt like, 3D Touch, a new pressure-sensitive screen technology from Apple, was the start of a new interface revolution.
I must admit that 3D Touch isn’t as great or revolutionary I initially thought it would be. After using the iPhone 6s Plus for more than 8 months, here are the 7 3D Touch tips and tricks I use regularly. 

Favorite 3D Touch Tricks

#1. Read an Email Without Opening it

Mail is an excellent app to try out the 3D Touch interactions. One of my favorite 3D Touch features is the ability to press a message in the mailbox list to peek at the message contents and then swipe to the right to mark it as read. I get a lot of emails, and this feature helps me save a ton of time and achieve my goal of Inbox Zero. You can also swipe to the left to Delete or Archive the email, or swipe up to get more options such as “Reply All”, “Forward”, “Mark..” (which gives you an option to Flag or Move the email to the junk folder), “Notify” and “Move Message”. You can press deeper to see the full message.

#2. Quickly Enable Low Power Mode

Ever since Apple has added Low Power Mode, I think I have become lazier when it comes to charging my iPhone. So I end up using Low Power Mode quickly frequently to get through the day. Here’s where the 3D Touch Quick Action for Battery Settings comes in handy. It is one of the fastest ways to quickly enable Low Power mode.
Press firmly on the Settings app icon to get Quick Action options, and then swipe up to the Battery option and release your finger, to jump to the Battery Settings. Tap on the On/Off toggle to enable Low Power mode.

#3. Quickly Take a Selfie

This is another useful 3D Touch shortcut. Press firmly on the Camera icon on the home screen to open the Quick Action menu. Then choose the option to take a photo or take a selfie. You also can choose to record a video or begin a slow-mo recording.

#4. Quickly Preview Last Taken Photos

How often have you taken a photo, and then gone back to the Camera roll to see if you need to take another one? I do it many times, so I find this 3D Touch feature very helpful.
When you take a photo with the Camera app, you can press on the thumbnail in the bottom left-hand corner to peek at the last taken photo or video.

#5. Turn iOS Keyboard into Trackpad While Typing

When typing in any app, you can easily switch to a trackpad mode that allows you to move the cursor across the screen. Simply press down on the keyboard until the keys disappear and the keyboard turns a shade grey. When the keyboard changes into this trackpad, you can move the cursor by swiping your finger around the trackpad area. You also can press once to select a word, press twice to highlight a sentence or press three times to select a paragraph. When you are done, simply lift up your finger to return to the keyboard.

#6. Preview Links

3D Touch also allows you to preview links from almost anywhere in iOS. When you see a link, simply press hard on the link and a pop-up preview of the site will appear. Once you are viewing the page, you can slide it upwards to access a menu that allows you to perform actions such as open the link, add it to a Reading List or Copy it. It is useful to have a quick look at the website to see if it is worth

#7. Check Message Without Sending Read Receipt

We have been hearing rumors that Apple will be giving us more granular control over who we want to send read receipts for iMessages. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet. But 3D Touch offers you a workaround. You can press a message to take a peek at it, but it won’t send a read receipt. If you want to engage in a conversation then you can swipe up, left or right to use quick actions.
You can also quickly switch to the previously used app by pressing firmly on the left edge of the screen and swiping to the right in one single motion or you can just release it to access the app switcher. But I keep forgetting to use it.
It may be gimmicky and a little confusing, but it offers some great ways to be more productive. It is certainly not a must-have as I had thought initially or a reason to buy iPhone 6s/iPhone 6s Plus. But we hope Apple can make it more useful in iOS 10.
Do you use 3D Touch? If so, please let me know your favorite 3D Touch features in the comments section below.
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Spotify’s Growth has Sped Up Since the Launch of Apple Music

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Despite the fact that streaming music has been around for awhile, apparently Apple had to get into the game to raise awareness. And help Spotify out, too.
Reuters spoke with one of Spotify’s Vice Presidents, and one of the company’s first employees, Jonathan Forster, to discuss where the streaming service stands now ever since Apple launched its own streaming service, Apple Music, last year. And, according to Forster, it’s bene going pretty well, as he says that Spotify has actually been growing at a faster pace ever since Apple’s competition landed on the market.
“It’s great that Apple is in the game. They are definitely raising the profile of streaming. It is hard to build an industry on your own,” Jonathan Forster, a vice president and one of its first employees, told Reuters in an interview.
“Since Apple Music started we’ve been growing quicker and adding more users than before.”
Last June, Spotify announced that it had about 20 million paid subscribers. However, the streaming service more recently announced that it had jumped up to 30 million subscribers. At the same time, almost a year ago, Spotify had almost 75 million active users. Now, though, Spotify has nearly 100 million.
For its part, to help give its subscribes and free listeners even more content, Spotify recently announced 12 original pieces of video content that will launch before the end of 2016. That content will include artist profiles, pieces on pop culture and music in general, and more.
Apple Music, which launched last year, already has 13 million paid subscribers — and doesn’t offer a free tier, like Spotify does.
[via Reuters]
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