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iPhone

Latest leaked iPhone 6s / iPhone 7 images

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As the widely rumored September 9th release date for the next iteration of iPhone approaches, so do the leaks! MacManiack obtained and released suspected images of the new iPhone.

It has been reported that the most significant changes to this new iPhone are coming in the form of a better user-facing camera, and new Force Touch technology for the screen, which was first debuted a month ago for new trackpads. The dimensions and aesthetics of the phone appear to be largely the same, which is the usual route for an “S” iteration, with larger changes coming for the “number” models. The sizes of the phones, 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch are supposed to be the same this year.

iPhone-6s
via MacManiack
via Macmaniack
via MacManiack

A lot has been written about Force Touch, and leaked images of the iPhone’s new flex cable arrangement seems to validate the new technology’s presence in the phone. KGI Securities, which pretty accurately assess and reports on Apple news, say that Force Touch will indeed be in this new phone. An analyst for KGI, however, also suggested that this new iPhone might not be a huge winner for the company, as it is projected to sell fewer units than Apple sold last year.

Perhaps the biggest change Apple is likely to make to its new phone is Force Touch. Force Touch allows a device to sense more exact pressure, by determining more exactly the area of the finger pushing against it. This technology is already in use on the Apple Watch, where a weak tap on email opens up the message, and a stronger push leads directly to a message reply. On the iPhone this will allow the user to skip long menus, like initiating navigation, or managing messages.

Another major improvement in the new iPhone will probably be the camera. The iPhone 6s or iPhone 7’s user-facing camera will have to be upgraded in order to keep pace with rival smartphones with more powerful cameras from 2015. The new “selfie-cam” is rumored to be capable of shooting slow-motion 240 fps video, and 1080p video at normal speed.

Other probable chances to the new device will be a better aluminum frame and higher resolution screen. Apple’s competitors, like Samsung’s Galaxy 6 and Edge, stepped up the hardware battle this year with hard metal cases and an innovative edge-display. Sources suggest that Apple has been eyeing using the aluminum alloy developed for the Apple Watch on its phones. For those who dislike the plastic bands on the back of iPhone 6, Apple has been working on a fix, although it likely won’t be ready by September launch. TechRadar reported in June that Apple had filed a patent for a new blend of metal oxides that would look like metal but allow radio waves to pass through. This technology would eliminate the need for the plastic strips, necessary in the iPhone 6 to allow radio signals into the phone.

 

Yet another possible upgrade to the phone could be a higher resolution screen. Apple has consistently improved upon their screens, from the iPhone 4’s “Retina” screen, to the iPhone 6’s “Retina HD Display”. Reports from IT Pro suggest that Apple’s new smaller model phone may feature a five-inch display with 400ppi resolution.

No matter what the details are, bigger phone, smaller phone, no plastic, new metal, whatever, global markets and customers alike eagerly await the new redesign.

News

Where were the iPad’s at the All England Club?

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At Wimbledon 2015 lead sponsor IBM was on display everywhere. From banners and screen ads, to television spots, IBM’s domineering sponsorship was felt. When the casual fan (myself included) watched these games it appeared that umpires were aided in officiating by not just IBM’s Hawkeye technology, but Apple iPads to display it. This was originally going to be a post about the presence of iPads at Wimbledon. However, as Mark Reschke of T-Gaap.com reported, the tablets at the All England Club were not iPads, but rather Panasonic’s Toughpad, running Windows.

Apple and IBM are well into a hundred million dollar partnership, one that has included such far ranging deals as IBM promoting iPads to elderly Japanese, IBM/Apple’s many business apps, software designed for banks, telecom, and utilities, issuing Apple’s products to employees, and even a brand new service for IBM clients that allows faster and more seamless integration of MacBooks within large companies. So with all that abundant and very public support and cooperation, why no iPads at Wimbledon? The answer is probably a boring one about All England Club contracts with other companies and legacy business deals. But it could just as easily be a serious marketing misstep.

Equally as odd as the lack of iPads at an IBM event, as Mark Reschke pointed out, is IBM’s under utilization of iPads in their high profile TV adverts. All current IBM ads show students or doctors using Windows equipment. Reschke says, justifiably, “perhaps someone in IBM corporate will inform their sports analytics team, marketing department, and advertising agency” about their current partnerships with Apple. Contacts with other companies, namely Sony, aside, there shouldn’t be a huge barrier to IBM using the littlest amount of leverage to get iPads into Wimbledon, or simply putting them in their minute-long TV spots seen by millions of people across the globe.

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Wimbledon App on the iPad

The only place Apple products were seen at Wimbledon? In the stands of course. Hoards of fans filmed the tennis action on their iPads and iPhones, uploading great quality video. Fan videos sometimes show, among other things, how Sony’s “Hawk-Eye” was getting some calls wrong. Hawk-Eye has a history of criticism, some from the Australian media regarding its use in cricket, another relating to a controversial call during Nadal-Federer in Wimbledon 2008, in which Hawk-Eye declared a ball in by 1mm, less than its 3.6 mm margin for error, and numerous peer-reviewed journal pieces calling into question the technology’s stated ability to predict trajectory. Tennis experts have also questioned whether or not the technology ignores factors like distortion of the ball on bouncing, and the human errors inherent in a court painted on the ground by people.

This is all to bring up another valid point, why has the much beleaguered Sony system, with a 3.6mm margin of error, not been replaced with better software and better cameras, like those sometimes found on Apple products? Prior contracts and commitments no doubt, but the sporting world is being short changed, and so is Apple.

News

Thunderstrike 2, New Zero-Day Vulnerability

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The Bad News: With every Black Hat season comes new vulnerabilities and zero-day exploits for our precious devices. According to TechCrunch.com, Xeno Novah and Trammell Hudson have found a serious exploit that potentially impacts all Apple devices. TechCrunch reports that this “firmworm” helps malware completely disable Apple devices, leaving users with no way to reboot their machines.

Thunderstrike 2 targets a device’s firmware through potentially any Thunderbolt linked accessory. Through receiving malicious code in an email or online link the malware looks for connected Thunderbolt accessories and infects them with its Option ROM. If the infected Thunderbolt accessory is connected when the device turns on, the malicious code targets firmware Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) for booting the device. The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) will execute Option ROM on Thunderbolt attachment before it boots OSX. The malicious code will infect the EFI itself and the device can be rendered inert and unfixable. If EFI is compromised, there is no way to reboot OSX, update firmware and remove malicious code. Additionally, the infected accessory device remains infected, and will infect other devices if connected.

This exploit news is not totally unexpected, a deluge of exploits is normal during Black Hat conference season, afterall. Uncomfortably, perhaps, it also comes in the wake of another Mac exploit last month. Stefan Esser found the DYLD exploit that allowed attackers to gain root privilege. There has been some evidence of adware creators using this vulnerability to install unwanted adware applications like VSearch, Genieo, and MacKeeper on users devices, also disabling the Mac App Store.

https://youtu.be/Jsdqom01XzY

 

Apple has already fixed DYLD in El Capitan’s beta but not in Yosemite, and has also already added applications using these exploits to the malware blacklist.

The Good News: According to a recent report from Ars Technica Apple have already partially patched this vulnerability in OS X 10.10.4, so fully updated users should be OK. Per Ars Technica Hudson has posted more information about the exploit here. According to Hudson, thanks to the update Macs are no longer “trivially vulnerable” but insists there are several vulnerabilities still. The pair of researchers will present more on the topic tomorrow at the Black Hat conference. To be extra careful until the fixes are formalize, be careful downloading (as always) and unplug any Thunderbolt accessories before booting your device. As Ars Technica‘s Andrew Cunningham points out, the real trouble with firmware-level malware is that most virus scans and anti-malware services search only in RAM and files stored on the desk. An infected accessory is difficult to detect, and just as tough to remove. Cunningham demonstrates that “You can’t use Thunderstrike to remove Thunderstrike” because, amazingly, the infected firmware patches the original security flaw.

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Photo by Trammell Hudson

Lastly, these exploits don’t only impact Apple’s devices. The exploits are common to most EFI firmware, including PCs by Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and more. However, numerous vulnerabilities also applied to Mac’s firmware, and Apple has only succeeded so far in partially fixing these issues.

 

iPad

iPad and the war for chain restaurants

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Over the past few years chain restaurants and airport eateries were experimenting with using a touchable tablet to replace the traditional ordering service. Using a tablet could allow a restaurant to staff fewer members to wait the restaurant, it was a popular idea. Recently, however, the clear favorite among chain restaurants was crowned, and it wasn’t Apple’s iPad, or any other off the shelf model. Instead chains are opting for restaurant specific devices like the Ziosk or E La Carte.

Last year Chili’s announced the purchase of 45,000 Ziosk units for its 800 stores. This was the biggest such purchase so far in the restaurant industry. With vendors across the world ditching cash machines for devices like Square, it is no surprise that the restaurant industry is doing the same with tablets. Chains like Applebee’s, Pizzeria Uno, and many more, have followed suit.

So why do restaurants prefer other tablets to the mainstream brands? The answer is multifaceted but fairly plain. iPads cost more, are more fragile, tend to get stolen, and a perhaps irrational fear that mainstream brands could cause diehard fans of one particular tech company, like Google or Apple, to dislike their restaurant if it featured their “rival’s” tablet.

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Ziosk interface

Some writers and ex-waiters believe passionately that this is not only a bad thing for wait staff everywhere, but that it can also harm the business. Waiters, if on their A-game, are capable to extracting more cash from semi-willing customers than a faceless, voiceless, ideas-about-the-specials-less, tablet. Everyone who has ever dined out knows this. How many times have you ordered something on the advice/social pressure after receiving that advice in a restaurant? Probably ad-nauseam. This is a valid concern, and the restaurant chains will undoubtedly be watching.

Despite the concerns, this is probably inevitable, and maybe a good thing. There will be fewer wrong orders, and games on a durable pad to distract the kids. But still, it’ll be a tough sell to a public to which food service and waiting tables is often a key foothold on financial stability and even identity.

But where does this leave Apple? Unless they bring out a line of restaurant specific tablets, it appears they’re out of the chain restaurant world. Small businesses still use iPads to be sure. But a few main factors limited the iPad with the food service market. Applebee’s told Bloomberg Businessweek that a lack of removable battery made the iPad unworkable for their stores. For other stores the limiting factor is price, the iPad is simply too expensive. Still for other restaurants, notably ones with a reputation for being kid-friendly, say iPads just aren’t durable enough.

Perhaps the strangest complaint from customers is that they fear iPads spying on them in restaurants. Apparently a number of customers at a Chili’s in Sacramento were concerned that the cameras on the front of their tablets were allowing the wait staff to spy on them. This bizarre concern was responded to by Chili’s, who denied the cameras are used to spy on customers. Applebee’s made a statement saying that cameras can be used by guests to take selfies, and are never used by the restaurant.

Regardless, it seems that tablets are here to stay in chain stores. Perhaps Apple will reenter the foray down the road with a durable restaurant-ready tablet, or perhaps they’re content selling far more than the 45,000 units Ziosk sold last year to Chili’s, to the world at large.

Mac

Best Dell monitors for the Apple Mac Mini

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When you finally decide to buy a Mac the sticker prices can quickly bring you back down to reality. With many of the computers costing $2,000 or more, some have resorted to buying a budget friendly Mac and pairing it with a traditional monitor. Given the current 27″ Thunderbolt Monitor from Apple is priced at $999, many can see the savings in buying good Dell monitor. To maximize the savings one could buy a Mac Mini and add a Dell monitor, this would give you the biggest bang for your buck. However all the monitors we mention in this article can be used with any Mac computer with the proper connections.

Dell Ultra HD 4k Monitor P2715Q 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor

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  • With 99% sRGB color coverage and a factory color calibration report, you can be sure that colors are as accurate as they can be.
  • Maximize your viewing options by adjusting the monitor to your desired height, or easily tilt or swivel to your preferred angle.
  • Pivot from landscape to portrait view to easily see full pages at a glance.

We’ll start at one of the higher end Dell monitors only because there we still be some of you who require 4K resolution. If you are not a professional or don’t need next generation graphics this is not the monitor for you. Most devices out there don’t even support 4K resolution yet but for those who wan’t to match Apple’s Retina Display monitor resolution this is for you. It is about half the cost of the Apple thunderbolt monitor giving you an average savings of around $450.

Dell UltraSharp U2715H 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor

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  • Refresh existing 27″ Dell Ultra Sharp monitor with new and improved features to drive productivity and dual or multi-monitor usage
  • A 27″ QHD resolution 16:9 aspect ratio monitor with an ultra-thin bezel.
  • Fully adjustable features like tilt, swivel, height adjust including pivoting both 90 Degree clockwise or counter-clockwise, allowing the thinnest possible edges to be placed side by side.

If you don’t need the 4K resolution this is your next option down in price. However because it is only $50 cheaper than the 4K we recommend upgrading. Many people prefer the UltraSharp monitors because of their thin bezels.

Dell S2715H 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor

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  • Get sharp, vivid, cinematic-quality pictures with Full HD resolution and colors that are rich, consistent, and accurate across an ultra-wide viewing angle.
  • Offering easy connectivity with handheld devices and viewing comfort with choice of VESA mounting options and tilt capability.
  • Display content and stream audio directly from your smartphone/tablet to your monitor and charge it at the same time when you connect your device via HDMI (MHL) to your monitor.
  • Vesa mount capability offers you the choice to wall mount or attach the monitor panel to the optional Dell Single Monitor Arm Stand for a clutter-free desk top.
  • Made of environmentally preferable materials, the Dell 27 Monitor is made from more than 25% post consumer recycled materials in its chassis, has BFR/PVC-free laminates in its circuit boards, an arsenic-free glass and a mercury- free LED panel.

Your third option would be the S2715H monitor from Dell, which has a lower resolution of 1920 x 1080. This is slightly lower than the UltraSharp monitors but still gives you HD quality. The biggest benefit of this monitor is the savings. With and average price of around $300 this in combination with a Mac Mini could keep your total budget under $1,000.

Dell S2240M 21.5-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor

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  • Contemporary styling: Feel like you’re there with an elegant, virtually borderless 21.5″ display featuring an almost-invisible bezel.
  • Superb performance: Images come alive with color-boosting Image Enhance, ultrawide viewing and Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 max.) in a 16:9 widescreen format.
  • Versatile connections: Easily connect to your laptop or desktop with VGA and DVI-D (HDCP) connectivity.

Although not highly recommended you could buy a 21″ monitor from Dell. If you’ve worked on smaller monitors and are ok with the size this is a great budget item in the range of $100-$150. Even thought is had HD resolution you will have to purchase an adapter or correct cable to get your Mac Mini to work with this monitor. You’ll need either an HDMI to DVI or Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. Still a complete solution for the lowest budget.

Ok great… What else do I need?

The Mac Mini comes with the computer and power cord, thats it. So you will need a keyboard, a mouse and a monitor with the proper cables or adapters. For the 27″ monitors above you will need either a Mini DisplayPort cable or HDMI cable. We recommend the Mini DisplayPort cable because it supports higher resolutions, but in general the HDMI is just as good. For the 21″ monitor we recommend an HDMI to DVI cable, you can get an adapter but its just as easy having everything in a single cable. If you are planning on using your TV as a monitor you will want to purchase an HDMI to HDMI cable. If you are not looking for a budget monitor you can check out our review of the high end options, in our opinion some of the best monitors for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.