iPad Air

[Jorge-Vieira]

A8X chip inside iPad Air 2 found to have custom 8-cluster GPU

Apple had more than a few tricks up its sleeve with regards to the iPad Air 2. While we knew the A8X chip was more powerful than the processor found inside the new batch of iPhones, hardware enthusiasts were surprised to learn that it was a triple-core affair with 2GB of RAM on tap.AnandTech recently took an even closer look at the chip’s graphics processing unit and came away with new findings that make the SoC even more impressive than people first thought.

Based on Apple’s performance claims and their own benchmark results, the publication initially concluded that the GPU was Imagination’s PowerVR GX6650– the company’s top GPU design. But upon further inspection and benchmark analysis, they realized this wasn’t the case at all.
A die shot from Chipworks confirmed the A8X features an 8-cluster GPU design. That’s interesting for the simple fact that Imagination doesn’t offer an official 8-cluster Series6XT GPU design. It appears that Apple has taken the GX6450 design and created an entirely new 8-cluster Series6XT design – or as the publication is calling it, the GXA6850.

Elsewhere, Anand was able to reconfirm that the A8X chip features a three-core processor design and there isn’t a fourth (disabled) core at play. While an odd number of cores is a bit unusual, it’s not completely unheard of.

Noticia completa:
http://www.techspot.com/news/58820-a...ound-have.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Tablet growth slows considerably as Apple's iPad realizes first yearly shipment decline

Apple started off the week on a high note but even that can do little to wash away the fact that the iPad’s popularity has been on the decline for quite some time. The latest report from market research and analytics firm International Data Corporation (IDC) casts a dark shadow not only over Apple but the tablet industry as a whole.Worldwide tablet shipments are expected to increase just 7.2 percent for 2014 to 235.7 million units. Those may sound like modest numbers but they pale in comparison to the 52.5 percent growth that tablet manufacturers enjoyed last year.
For Apple, 2014 will go down as the first full year in which the iPad will see a yearly decline in shipment volume with the Cupertino-based company expected to ship just 64.9 million units – 12.7 percent fewer than last year. It’s a bit ironic when you consider there are now more iPad models to choose from than ever before.
There are plenty of reasons why tablets aren’t flying off store shelves as fast as they once were. For starters, the market is slowly creeping up on its saturation point meaning most of the people that want a tablet have already purchased one.

Noticia completa:
http://www.techspot.com/news/58972-t...zes-first.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

iPad Air Plus Looks Humongous in front of Other Apple Devices

We recently saw the size details of the alleged 12.2-inch iPad Air Plus aka iPad Pro. The leak received last week suggested that the upcoming larger tablet from Apple would come with dimensions of 305.31 x 220.8 x 7 mm (12 x 8.7 x .28 inches). A 12-inche tablet has been long rumored to come from Apple; here is how it sizes up to other Apple devices.

iPad Air Plus compared with Apple devices:

We saw increased momentum in the leaks and rumors around the device especially in the months preceding the iPhone 6 duo and iPad mini 3, iPad Air 2 launch. However, it stopped after the launch giving an impression that Apple might want to put the device for a later year considering its adventurous embarking of releasing larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones.
With the latest stream of leaks and dimensions details, we can still keep up with the iPad Air Plus release of early 2015 in the books. This release date was speculated earlier in the year and even the latest rumors are in line with the suggestion of iPad Air Plus launching in second quarter of 2015. Here is a pretty good video where iPad Pro mock up has been compared to other Apple devices including last year’s iPhone, this year’s iPhone 6 duo, both the latest tablets including the mini and the Air, and finally the 13-inch MacBook.

Noticia completa:
http://wccftech.com/ipad-air-humongous-front-apple-devices

[Jorge-Vieira]

Apple and IBM deliver first MobileFirst for iOS applications

Apple and IBM have unveiled the first breed of MobileFirst made-for-business apps and supporting cloud services for iPhone and iPad. The new programs bring IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to Apple users in the enterprise. The applications are designed for customers in banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines.
“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organizations will put iOS devices to work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”
The IBM MobileFirst applications are developed for devices running Apple iOS 8.1. Thanks to the new programs, employees will be able to access online capabilities and core enterprise processes of their companies with security across the data, apps and devices. The applications can be modified for any company and effortlessly deployed, managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM. The apps transform Apple’s iPhone and iPad into true corporate business tools.

This first lineup of IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps includes the following:

• Plan Flight (Travel and Transportation) permits pilots to view flight schedules, flight plans, and crew manifests ahead of time, report issues in-flight to ground crews, and make more informed decisions about discretionary fuel.
• Passenger+ (Travel and Transportation) lets flight crews to offer an unmatched level of personalized services to passengers in-flight, such as special offers, re-booking, and baggage information.
• Advise & Grow (Banking and Financial Markets) puts bankers on premise with their small business clients, with secure authorization to access client profiles and competitive analyses, gather analytics-driven insights to make personalized recommendations, and complete secure transactions.
• Trusted Advice (Banking and Financial Markets) allows advisors to access and manage client portfolios, gain insight from powerful predictive analytics—in the client’s kitchen or at the local coffee shop, rather than the advisor’s office – with full ability to test recommendations with sophisticated modeling tools all the way to complete, secure transactions.
• Retention (Insurance) empowers agents with access to customers’ profiles and history, including an analytics-driven retention risk score as well as smart alerts, reminders, and recommendations on next best steps and facilitation of key transactions like collection of e-signatures and premiums.
• Case Advice (Government) addresses the issue of workload and support among caseworkers who are making critical decisions, one family or situation at a time, on the go. The solution adjusts case priorities based on real-time analytics-driven insights, and assesses risk based on predictive analysis.
• Incident Aware (Government) presents law enforcement officers with real-time access to maps and video-feeds of incident locations; information about victim status, escalation risk, and crime history; and improved ability to call for back-up and supporting services.
• Sales Assist (Retail) enables associates to connect with customer profiles, make suggestions based on previous purchases and current selections, check inventory, locate items in-store, and ship out-of-store items.
• Pick & Pack (Retail) combines proximity-based technology with back-end inventory systems for transformed order fulfillment.
• Expert Tech (Telecommunications) taps into native iOS capabilities including FaceTime for easy access to expertise and location services for route optimization to deliver superior on-site service, more effective issue resolution and productivity as well as improved customer satisfaction.

Noticia completa:
http://www.kitguru.net/apple/anton-s...-applications/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Cellular models of iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 launching in China this week

Apple has announced that the cellular models of the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, which support networks including TD-LTE, FDD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, DC-HSDPA and HSPA+, will be available in China starting this week. Earlier, only the Wi-Fi models of the devices were available in the country.
The 4G-equipped iPad Air 2 will be available for a suggested retail price of 4,488 RMB ($727) for the 16GB model, 5,188 RMB ($840) for the 64GB model, and 5,888 RMB ($954) for the 128GB model, while their Wi-Fi only counterparts are priced at 3,588 RMB ($581), 4,288 RMB ($695), and 4,988 RMB ($808), respectively.
Meanwhile the iPad mini 3 with cellular capabilities will be available in the country for a suggested retail price of 3,788 RMB ($614) for the 16GB model, 4,488 RMB ($727) for the 64GB model, and 5,188 RMB ($840) for the 128GB model. Wi-Fi only models are priced at 2,888 RMB ($468), 3,588 RMB ($581), and 4,288 RMB ($694), respectively.
In addition, the company is also offering silver or space gray models of the iPad Air, iPad mini 2, and iPad mini, at more affordable prices.

Noticia completa:
http://www.techspot.com/news/59134-c...ad-mini-3.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

As iPad's Fifth Birthday Approaches, Annual Sales To Fall For First Time

Tablets existed long before Apple came out with the iPad five years ago, though the Cupertino company certainly deserves credit for advancing the category and creating demand that didn't really exist prior to its release. And it's been a good run for Apple, which has dominated the tablet market ever since, but has the market for these devices run its course?

We don't know the answer to that question yet, though there are indications that should worry Apple. One of them is ABI Research's forecast that iPad sales will tally 68 million units in 2014, down from 74 million units in 2014. If the number crunchers at ABI Research are close, or even in the ballpark, then this will be the first time in its nearly five years of existence that annual iPad sales have slipped.

"Historically, Apple has counted approximately 35 percent of its iPad sales in the last calendar quarter of the year," says Jeff Orr, senior practice director of ABI. "Unless Apple can pull off a 32-plus million-unit quarter, sales for CY2014 will be down for the first year since the iPad launched."

Apple isn't alone here. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google are all expected to report year-over-year declines in tablet sales. The problem these players are facing is that consumers aren't seeing a need to upgrade over their existing models. Sure, the iPad Air 2 is faster and overall better than the iPad Air, but it's not a monumental leap, especially in terms of the user experience. Same goes for other generational upgrades.

Interestingly enough, Samsung is bucking the trend -- the company is expected to ship 43 million slates in 2014, up from 38 million in the previous. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, and Microsoft are also expected to see tablet sales rise in 2014.

Noticia:
http://hothardware.com/news/as-ipads...dGOVFj1j5ud.99

[Jorge-Vieira]

Apple iPad sales expected to dip for the first full year since launch

For the first year, since it launched in 2010, Apple's iPad sales are expected to experience a decline. There is an outside chance that this expectation doesn't become reality - if company scores exceptionally big in iPad holiday sales - reports MarketWatch.
The rapid drop in shipments is said to be partly due to competition from larger and more powerful phablet smartphones, including Apple's own new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models. These larger smartphones are cannibalising not just the iPad, but previous best-selling tablets in general and the market is becoming saturated. Consumers are finding more reasons to stick with the devices they already own, and very few incentives to upgrade to a slightly lighter or more powerful iPad when their large screened smartphones can accomplish most of the tasks a tablet can.

Microsoft Surface on the up
According to market intelligence company ABI Research, Apple is expected to report around 68 million iPad units sold during the calendar year of 2014, marking an 8.1 per cent decline and 6 million units fewer compared to the amount sold during the 2013 calendar year. Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Google are also expected to note year-over-year tablet sale declines, though rivals such as Microsoft, Samsung, LG, Lenovo, HP, Dell, ASUS and Acer are all set to report increases in tablet sales.

HP tablets did better in 2014

"Historically, Apple has counted approximately 35 per cent of its iPad sales in the last calendar quarter of the year," ABI senior practice director Jeff Orr said. "Unless Apple can pull off a 32+ million unit quarter, sales for CY2014 will be down for the first year since the iPad launched."
When reflecting on the numbers, this means that the Cupertino-based technology icon will need to ship nearly half as many tablets in the final three months of 2014 than it did in all of the first nine months just to hold even with shipments a year ago. The company will be unveiling its calendar Q4/fiscal Q1 earnings later this month, and thus has yet to reveal how well its new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 have performed during the holidays.
Deceleration
Research firm IDC also forecasted a "massive deceleration" in overall tablet growth in 2014, with the rate of uptake dropping from 52 per cent in 2013 to just 7 per cent in 2014. The firm previously predicted that 2014 will be Apple's first for iPad sale declines. However, ABI believes that tablet manufacturers in general will benefit from 16 per cent overall growth in 2015. It sees broader deployment of slates in the enterprise, tiered product portfolios and "benefits-oriented marketing messaging".

Noticia:
http://hexus.net/mobile/news/tablets...-since-launch/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Taking Down iPad Air 2? Rumored Galaxy Tab S2 Will Be Thinner Than Apple’s Tablet Pride

When Apple launched the iPad Air 2 last year, it managed to surprise most of us with the thickness and the performance of its tablet. The iPad Air 2 was vastly appreciated all around and stood at a mere 6.1 mm when it comes to overall thickness, which made it one of the thinnest tablets around to own. That coupled with the tri-core Cyclone A8X beast of a processor under the hood made the iPad Air 2 a very solid offering indeed for someone with deep pockets and sound judgement of an amazing device.



Samsung Looking To Provide Tough Competition To Apple With Galaxy Tab S2

Looks like Samsung’s got big plans for this year, with the company looking to target what many consider its arch rival in smartphones, Apple in more than one ways. Asides from the much hyped about Galaxy S6 launches coming next month from the Korean manufacturer, Samsung also seems to have a successor for the Galaxy Tab S. Samsung insider Sammobile has some scoop about the Tab S’ successor today, and allegedly, the tablet will be built to impress and steer you away from Apple.
The Korean manufacturer is looking to give a premium touch and feel to the Galaxy Tab S2 with the device being said to come with an all metal frame. In addition to this, the tablet will also be thinner than the iPad Air 2. As to what the battery and processor capacities on the Galaxy Tab S2 will be, we suppose its still too early for any concrete information on that. The tablet will also be coming with two screen sizes – namely 8 and 9.7 inches. This decreases the overall screen size from the current Galaxy Tab S, which comes with screen sizes of 8.4 inches and 10.5 inches. Sounds interesting, but its still too early to get all hyped up. Lets just wait for the Galaxy S6 to see what Samsung has in store for us.

Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/samsung-launch-g...#ixzz3Rw1i4sts

[Jorge-Vieira]

iPad Air 2 to be supplied to all UK MPs following general election

The House of Commons Commission has announced that all 650 MPs in the UK parliament will be given an iPad Air 2 and a laptop following the next election. Due to their continued use over the last few years iPads have been integrated with the House of Commons business processes and infrastructure.

Supplying the 650 MPs with this premium tablets and laptops will cost around £1 million in total. The refresh program will be spread over four to five years, reports the Daily Telegraph.
As mentioned in the introduction, the House of Commons has got used to Apple's system and any move to a rival or a choice of OSes would both incur costs due to development and possibly retraining time. The security features, SIM connectivity, modern fast processing power and build quality were all put forward as good reasons to go with the iPad platform. The iPad 2 model which has been specified for bulk purchase for the MPs is the Wi-Fi + cellular model with 16GB of storage. Any choice of gold, silver or black finishes will presumably be left to the MPs.

Not all MPs are positive about the iOS dominance and the expense involved in this upgrade program. Shadow Cabinet Office minister and MP for Newcastle central, Chi Onwurah, said that it locked the MPs into a platform that "most of my constituents can't afford." She said that the iOS platform undoubtedly appeals to Candy Crush and iTunes fans like Nigel Mills. However Onwurah would like to see a platform independent parliament.

MP Nigel Mills enjoys some Candy Crush during a meeting

According to the Telegraph, parliament has some 209 Apple iPad users already in its ranks including PM David Cameron. Many will be enjoying a tax-free upgrade soon.

Noticia:
http://hexus.net/mobile/news/tablets...eral-election/

[Jorge-Vieira]

OLED Seems To Be The Way At Apple For Upcoming iPads

Apple’s known to be famously reluctant when it comes to making changes on its devices. It took the Cupertino manufacturer quite a while to finally cave in and increase screen sizes on the iPhone, with RAM upgrades for the flagship smartphones occurring at an equally slow pace. Well it seems like another change can be expected soon, this time on the company’s popular iPad line of tablets, that have managed to gain even more popularity after the remarkably thin iPad Air upgrade last year.






Apple Enters Agreement With Recently Founded JOLED For OLED Displays On Future iPads

Apple’s in contact with new suppliers for its future iPads, and the matter on its agenda seems to be displays. As the name suggests, according to fresh reports, Apple’s next display partner for displays on its popular line of tablets will be JOLED. And as the name suggests, if today’s information is correct than you’d be correct to assume that the iPad is finally making the shift to OLED displays, from LCD. And before you write off JOLED as any other display manufacturer, its been founded by a collaboration of Sony, Japan Display and Panasonic. So the iPad seems to be in safe hands for now.
JOLED’s been initially expected to start production from 2017, but the company seems to be willing to make exceptions when it comes to Apple. Looks like the Cupertino manufacturer has a special way to get what it wants when it comes to suppliers. The display manufacturer has displayed willingness to start mass production for Apple by the end of next year, giving Apple plenty of time to play around with OLED, in the highly unlikely scenario that JOLED is the company’s only partner. Sound interesting? Let us know what you think in the comments section and stay tuned.

Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/apples-ipad-pro-...#ixzz3XV3eheIx

[Jorge-Vieira]

Watch Videos While Chatting – Apple Introduces Split-Screen Multitasking for iPad

So Apple released incremental updates to iOS and OS X today at WWDC 2015. Cook and the team are currently showing off the “one more thing” that is Apple Music. As expected, today’s highlight is Apple’s music streaming service and nothing more.
Apple today has discussed iOS 9, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Apple Pay, Watch OS, Healthkit and some other updates. While you can click on the above links to read in detail about those products and their latest launches, we are currently hooked on to that one feature long overdue from Apple – multitasking.

iOS 9 multitasking – SlideOver, PIP and more:

Apple was expected to launch the split-screen multitasking feature for iPads last year. The expectation was followed by another hope of seeing a 12-inch tablet from the company in the same year. However, we neither saw the iPad Pro nor did the multitasking feature come.
It changes today, as Apple has finally announced a new SlideOver feature in iOS 9. SlideOver will let you run two iPad apps side-by-side either with a 50/50 or 70/30 screen ratio. Remember this is the same feature that Apple discussed during OS X 10.11 El Capitan window management earlier in the keynote.

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This feature is further aided by a new task switcher that will allow you to quickly switch to a view showing iPad-sized apps next to each other on iPad Air 2. You can also swipe an app running at iPhone width alongside an iPad-sized app.
More features and eases of this latest iOS 9 multitasking includes a very useful tip of shrinking videos down called Picture in Picture. No more “either watch or work” as you would be able to watch the video while working in the other apps. Finally!
With an aim to offer services and features that are uniform throughout the ecosystem, Apple is trying its best to offer similar services, refinements and improvements in both the Mac OS X and iOS builds. Latest iPad mini and both the iPad Air models get this iOS 9 multitasking iPad feature. However, only iPad Air 2 will get the full multitasking capabilities. Should we start hoping to see the iPad Pro aka iPad Plus this year too?

Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/ios-9-multitaski...#ixzz3cVRIrXcs

[Jorge-Vieira]

Apple’s Thin Crusade Continues With iPad Air 2-Inspired, 6.1mm Thick iPad Mini 4

When Apple introduced the iPad mini 3 alongside its iPad Air 2 last year, it seemed like the Cupertino outfit was losing interest in the smaller size tablet. Apple didn't spend a lot of time talking about the iPad mini 3, and the upgrades were pretty ho hum -- Touch ID and support for Apple Pay was added, and not much else. Was Apple going to discontinue the iPad mini line?

Probably not. Though it seemed that way at the time, leaked iPad mini 4 renderings suggest that there will be at least one more version. What's more, the fourth generation iPad mini is shown to be even thinner than its predecessor, reaching parity with the super skinny iPad Air 2. Specifically, the renderings show the iPad mini 4 being a scant 6.1mm thick, just like its bigger sibling.

For the sake of comparison, the iPad mini 3 is 7.5m thick. Shaving 1.4mm off is impressive, especially for a device that can be wielded with one hand, though let's be real, it's not like the iPad mini 3 is chunky by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course, leaked renderings should be taken with a grain of salt. That said, notorious tipster and Twitter user @OnLeaks is the one who posted the renderings, and his track history is pretty darn good. His renderings also go in line with various rumors and reports, such as one from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claimed the iPad mini 4 would be along the lines of the iPad Air 2 in terms of physical design. We should also point out that just a few months ago, Jony Ive explained that it's Apple's desire is always to make new generation products thinner than the previous version.



There's also been talk of the new tablet getting some of the same hardware and features of the iPad Air 2, including Apple's custom A8 processor, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Noticia:
http://hothardware.com/news/apples-t...ck-ipad-mini-4