Apple unveils iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, aiming to tighten grip on high-end smartphones

Apple on Wednesday debuted its newest smartphones, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, giving the devices a new pressure-sensitive display, zippier processor and more powerful camera.

"What we have to show you today is really awesome," CEO Tim Cook said during Apple's presentation at the Bill Graham Auditorium in downtown San Francisco. "While they may look familiar, we have changed everything about these new iPhones."

This year's iPhone is Apple's off "S" year. That means Apple keeps the basic design of the device the same but adds other features to attract buyers, like the Siri digital voice assistant in the iPhone 4S and the TouchID fingerprint reader in the iPhone 5S.

The iPhone has become more vital than ever to the company's financial results following the introduction of Apple's bigger-screen smartphones a year ago. It has made up more than two-thirds of sales in the past several quarters since Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September 2014. Typically, the iPhone accounts for closer to 50 percent of Apple's revenue. That means keeping customers interested in the iPhone is critical for Apple to remain a major tech leader.

A marquee feature for this year's iPhone 6S was expected to be the Force Touch technology used in the Apple Watch, a pressure-sensitive display that responds to various types of touches. The company instead unveiled 3D Touch, a feature that appears to have the same capabilities. For instance, it will enable a user to peek in an email by pressing down on the subject head. 

In another notable change, Siri can be activated via voice for the first time, using the command "Hey Siri." That will allow users to ask the digital assistant to play music or make a phone call, even while they are washing dishes or preparing a meal. In older models, Siri can only be activated by pressing the phone's home button. The new feature helps Apple catch up to other voice-activated devices such as the Amazon Echo speaker and many Android phones.

The new 4.7-inch 6S and 5.5-inch 6S Plus are the same size as last year's models. Preorders start Saturday and the devices go on sale September 25 in the US, UK, China, France, Japan, Australia and other markets. The phone will be available in 130 countries by year's end. Also, owners of newer models of the iPhone can upgrade to the new iOS 9 operating system starting September 16.

Following Apple's typical pricing system, the base-model iPhone 6S will cost $649 without a two-year carrier contract. Prices for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be knocked down $100

Google could make a comeback in China with its Play Store

San Francisco: Google is talking with Chinese authorities and smartphone makers about opening an online shop in China stocked with applications for Android-powered mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The move would mark a return for the US Internet firm, which moved its online search service from Mainland China to Hong Kong in 2010 after a cyberattack targeting Gmail users and a clash over censorship.

Many Google services, such as its free Gmail email, are blocked in China.

Google-backed Android powers the majority of the smartphones in the world and is available free for device makers in China and elsewhere.

Manufacturers such as Xiaomi customize their own version of Android, while Baidu and other Internet players in China run app stores that don't share revenue with Google, according to the Journal.

Opening a Google Play online shop for digital content approved by the Chinese government and pre-installed on smartphones powered by a licensed version of Android would be a remedy for that situation.

Google has been working on the project for more than a year and hoped to have the China app shop on new smartphones by the end of this year, according to a source cited by the Journal.

Google did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Data Show Solid Debut for Apple’s New Watch

 

Apple Inc. sold more watches in their first quarter of availability than it did iPads or iPhones.

Research firm IDC Thursday said Apple shipped 3.6 million Apple Watch units in the second quarter, after it began shipping on April 24.

The numbers are among the first credible indicators of Watch sales. Apple hasn’t provided its own figures, opting to keep its numbers secret to avoid tipping off competitors.

IDC said Apple’s sales placed it second among sellers of wearable devices behind Fitbit Inc. The research firm said Fitbit shipped 4.4 million units during the second quarter, although IDC distinguished between the Apple Watch and basic wearables like Fitbit that don’t run third-party apps.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the IDC numbers.

The IDC figures suggest the Watch has gotten off to a better start than the iPad or iPhone. Apple launched the iPad on April 3, 2010, and sold 3.27 million units in that first quarter. The iPhone went on sale in June 2007 as the quarter was wrapping up and sold 270,000 units. In the following three months, Apple sold 1.12 million iPhones.

Apple, which typically unveils new iPhones in the fall, on Thursday sent out invitations to a Sept. 9 event in San Francisco.

The Watch has battled negative publicity and lukewarm reviews since it appeared in the spring. No models were available at Apple retail stores until mid-June. 

In late July, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said Watch sales had surpassed Apple’s own projections, but didn’t say what those were.

A new version of Watch software is coming out in the fall. It is expected to address the sluggish performance of non-Apple apps. In the current version, all third-party Watch apps run on the iPhone and beam data to the watch, causing a lag in performance.

iPhone 6s to Sport 12-Megapixel iSight Camera With 4K Recording: Report

 

Apple has finally revealed its September 9 event, which was rumoured since earlier this month. The Cupertino-based tech firm is said to announce its new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphones at the event, alongside the next-gen Apple TV and the formal launch of iOS 9. Until now, we have seen enough rumours and leaked images on the Web, giving an idea of how the final iPhone devices would look like and what features they might sport, and new reports have come in as well.

As previously reported, the rumoured iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s models are once again expected to sport an upgraded 12-megapixel rear camera along with the ability to record 4K resolution videos, says 9to5Mac. The current models feature an 8-megapixel rear iSight camera and miss out on the 4K resolution video recording. It is worth noting that, if the rumour is true, this would be the first time since the iPhone 4s that the iPhone series' camera resolution would be upgraded. Also tipped is an improved image signal processor, alongside the improved A9 SoC.

The report also talks about the handsets' improved FaceTime camera for higher quality videos and selfie shots. Furthermore, Apple is also tipped to add a front-facing flash along with the FaceTime camera. 9to5Mac says that while certain code strings in iOS 9 beta versions have hinted at the inclusion of a front-facing flash, its sources have denied such reports. Instead, the handset might borrow features from Snapchat or PhotoBooth where the handset display would flash a quick white screen when users press the front camera shutter. Other expected features include front-facing panorama shots and HD resolution slow-motion video recording.

Another 9to5Mac report has tipped the unannounced iPhone 6s handsets to share similar animated wallpapers to that of the Apple Watch. The animated motion wallpapers would come with 'jellyfish, multi-coloured butterflies, or brightly coloured flowers' options. The report adds the motion wallpapers could range from sets of animated fish to a koi pond and colourful arrays of smoke. Apple, in its iOS 9 beta version added a wallpaper showing coloured smoke against a black background, which is likely to come animated in the smartphone.

An image has also been posted online showing the alleged yet-to-be-assembled box cover of the iPhone 6s Plus. The cover shows a gold koi pond fish wallpaper, cementing the speculation. While the sources have said that the animated wallpapers might not make it in the final consumer version of the device at launch as they are still being tested, the wallpaper in the cover box hints that the feature has been tested completely and is ready to reach the market.

We have already heard much about the display panel of the iPhone 6s smartphone previously - namely, its Force Touch technology. However, a new set of images has reached the Web (via Macrumors) giving a closer look of the panel. No new details have been revealed in the images, but it does show us a close up of the much talked-about Force Touch feature that the smartphones are said to receive. The sources behind the leaked images claimed the display panel is slightly thicker and heavier than the ones used in iPhone 6. The thickness of the display panel added with a mysterious chip placed on the panel hint towards the inclusion of Force Touch feature.

Previously, we'd seen the purported iPhone 6s display panel in a video that was posted last month. It is worth noting that some Force Touch feature codes were also found in the iOS 9 beta codes when tested by 9to5Mac. The feature is being said to be used for several functions, one of which is said to be the keyboard trackpad scrolling. cnBeta, which leaked the unassembled iPhone 6s Plus cover box about which we mentioned above, has added that the two upcoming iPhone 6s handsets will be backed by a smaller battery than the ones in current generation. The iPhone 6s Plus is said to feature a 2750mAh battery, down from the current estimated 2915mAh offering.

As for the previously rumours new Pink colour variant, the smartphone is now said to be set to come in the specific Rose Gold colour variant already introduced with Apple Watch. Notably, the Rose Gold colour variant of the iPhone 6s would be more like the copper-hued variation instead of pink, which we saw in recent leaks. Also, mentioned, was that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus would reportedly be missing out on sapphire crystal display covers.

Painting the full picture, recent leaks had pointed to Apple using System in Package (SiP) technology for the new smartphones, and release the handsets in the same storage variants - 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. Besides a stronger metal casing, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models have been tipped to include redesigned wireless system powered by Qualcomm's Cat 6. LTE chipset.

Here are all the New Features in Xiaomi’s MIUI 7

At an event in New Delhi, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced MIUI 7, the latest version of its operating system based on Android Lollipop. Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s global VP, said that MIUI is now used by over 150 million users in 156 countries.

Barra didn’t actually announce a release date for the final version of MIUI 7 — that, we think, will show up in just a couple of months when Xiaomi launches its new flagship, the Mi 5 — but he did show off a number of new features in the new operating system.

Here are the highlights:

• MIUI 7 comes with 4 built-in themes: Rose, Pink Blush, Ocean Breeze and High Life. The Rose and the Pink blush themes are incorporate shades of pink and are inpsired by high-end luxury goods, according to Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra. The Ocean Breeze theme has blue pastles, while the High Life theme is the most elegant and sophisticated of the four with shades of brown and gold.Additionally, you can also download thousands of other themes from Xiaomi’s global theme store.

• To go with its colourful themes, Xiaomi will release limited colour editions of its Mi 4i smartphone in India on August 25. 
• There is now a brand new version of a theme-designing tool called MUSE that’s available to theme desginers. It lets people easily build detailed, animated themes that customise everything from the icons to the lock screen. Xiaomi released a special Shah Rukh Khan-inspired theme called Badshah Rocks that lets you change SRK’s outfit right on the the lock screen.
• MIUI 7 has a new feature called Daily Lockscreen, which puts a brand new image on your lockscreen every single day.
• Thanks to major behind-the-scenes optimisations, Xiaomi claims that launch apps on MIUI 7 is 30% faster than launching them on MIUI 6.
•  MIUI 7 gets about 10% better battery life compared to MIUI 6, said Barra.
• There’s a brand new font size called XXL font, which lets users bump up the size of fonts across the system and optimises the larger sizes to be usable in messaging apps. MIUI now supports a total of 5 font sizes. The new XXL size is also available for Hindi fonts.
• A brand new facial recognition feature identifies pictures of your children and puts them all in a single “Baby Album” tab in the MIUI 7 Gallery app. Additionally, MIUI 7 now has a Child Mode that lets parents whitelist specific apps that children can use anbd limit SMS.
• If you have a Mi Band, it will now automatically put your phone in the Do Not Disturb mode when it detects that you’ve fallen asleep.
• MIUI 7 now supports 10 Indian languaes, up from 6 that MIUI 6 supported. The new langauges are Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati and Punjabi.
•  Thanks to some smart integration from browser-maker Opera, MIUI 7 supports systemwide data compression, which means that phones running MIUI 7 use considerably less data than other phones.
• Messaging is now smarter. MIUI 7 will put messages from real people up front and everything else — texts from banks, advertisements, One-Time Password Codes, and more — in a separate tab.
• You will now be able to set a 5-second video loop as your profile image, which will be displayed whenever you call another MIUI 7 user.
• MIUI 7 will be availble as a beta download from Monday, August 24, 2015. For the first time, you can install the beta on every Xiaomi phone available in India.