News

Weekly iPhone 6 rumor roundup

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With the iPhone 6 announcement rumored to be just three weeks away, rumors are coming into technology blogs by the dozens. Some of them reaffirm what has already been said, some are brand new. This article will summarize some of the hottest rumors from this last week.

iPhone 6 Hits Production Snag

Perhaps the biggest rumor of the last week came Friday when Reuters posted that iPhone 6 production had come to a standstill back in July because of a last minute problem with the screen. That problem, according to the report, forced Apple to tweak the screen before production could continue.

This delay back a month or so ago, has led to speculation that the September 9^th announcement, rumored a couple weeks ago, might need to be pushed back by Apple in order to ensure enough stock on hand before the official launch.

iPhone 6 Will Run On All Chinese Carriers

One of the things Apple does best is eliminate SKUs. They want a single product that can be sold in as many countries as possible. A leak on the Chinese site Weibo, from a China Mobile carrier, suggests that Apple will be releasing just a single iPhone 6 model in China. That model will work on all the different Chinese carriers.

Full Fledged Sapphire Production Won’t Be At Full Throttle Until 2015

This is yet another leak that suggests that Apple is having some problems getting iPhone 6 production up to full speed. Rumors have speculated for months that the iPhone 6 would be Apple’s first smartphone to use the ultra durable glass replacement. Over the course of those same months, there have been countless reports that the production of sapphire wasn’t up to Apple’s initial demand.

This new rumor suggests that current sapphire production still isn’t up to meeting Apple’s demand for it, and that point won’t be reached until the first quarter of 2015.

New Leak Gives Dimensions of Both iPhone 6 Models

Finally, a report out of Foxconn, appears to give the exact dimensions of the next generation iPhone. The leak suggests that the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 will have the dimensions of 138mm long, 66mm wide and 6.9mm thick. The 5.5inch version will be 158mm long, 78mm wide, and 7.1mm thick.

The weight of the 4.7 inch model wasn’t listed in the leak, however, the 5.5 inch model is reported to weigh around 168.5grams.

OS X

Apple releases second OS X Yosemite public beta

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For the first time in Apple’s history, earlier this year they released a public beta of their upcoming OS X update. Named Yosemite, it brings a brand new look to OS X, taking a lot of design cues from iOS. On Thursday, Apple released the second version of this public beta to testers.

Over the past month, Apple has released two developer updates to Yosemite. This second public beta brings the public version up to date with what developer’s are currently using. OS X Yosemite Beta 6 was released to developers earlier in the week. It brought several small user interface changes, and the usual amount of bug fixes. The first public beta, which was brought out about a month ago; Apple said it planned to allow 1 million people to sign up for the beta.

old-yosemite-system-prefs — Old system preferences look

new-yosemite-system-prefs — New system preferences look

What’s New?

If you’ve been using the public beta, there are several new things you’ll find in beta 2. You’ll find small tweaks of the UI all over the place. Apple has spent the last month making sure every corner of the OS X user interface receives a make over in order to make it fit in with the rest of the operating system.

You should also notice that this beta feels much more finished than the previous beta. Over the last month, Apple has fixed innumerable bugs and flaws, and has brought the OS closer to what we’ll see when the finished version hits Macs this fall.

Apple seems to be pushing the developer betas faster than the public version. It’s possible that they are doing this in order to prevent major bugs for people who aren’t accustom to using beta software.

iTunes

The second public beta also includes the latest version of iTunes 12. iTunes 12 includes a brand new interface to fit in with the rest of OS X Yosemite, as well as new features for creating and managing playlists, and easier library management.

This second version of the iTunes beta fixes several bugs, and further refines the user interface.

Where to Get It

If you have the first public beta installed on your machine now, upgrading to the second version is as simple as opening the Mac App Store and going to the Update tab. There you’ll find an update, that when downloaded will update you to public beta 2, and will also install the latest version of the iTunes 12 beta.

If you have yet to sign up for the OS X Yosemite public beta, it appears (as of publication), that Apple is still accepting participants into the program. You can go the sign up page here. How long this will remain open is unknown, as again, Apple has stated that only 1 million people will get in.

iPad

iPad Air 2 may feature 2GB of RAM

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According to a report out of Taiwan, the next generation iPad, commonly referred to as the iPad Air 2 (most probably will be known by Apple name as simply the iPad Air), will feature 2GB of RAM. That is double the amount of RAM found in the current generation iPad Air. The current generation iPad mini with Retina Display also features 1GB of RAM.

According to the rumor, the second generation iPad Mini with Retina Display will still be stuck at 1GB of RAM.

Memory Does Not Matter to Apple

As many Apple enthusiasts know, Apple rarely plays the specs game. Instead they focus on keeping the cost of the device low so that they can keep their profit margins high.

That means that instead of getting away with shoddy software design, Apple has to constantly reconfigure and optimize their operating systems for the amount of RAM that they are putting in the device. This is why it is often said that Apple’s devices run better despite their failure to compete on specs.

RAM is a big deal however, even for Apple. Apple has, since the iPad’s launch in 2010, placed a lot of capital in the device as being a great gaming machine. Indeed it clearly beats Android when it comes to depth, quality, and quantity of game titles. By increasing the RAM in the next generation iPad Air, Apple will allow developers to do much more when it comes to graphics and processing. That means better and bigger games.

In iOS 8, Apple has created a newly designed software stack called Metal, which will eliminate the processing time between request and execution. In layman’s terms, it allows the game to get closer to the CPU and GPU, which means games will operate faster. By adding extra RAM to the iPad Air 2, Apple gives developers even more power to play with.

As is always the case, Apple has to take certain things into account before they can increase specs like RAM. For example, more RAM means a bigger impact on both battery life and heat output.

Another reason why more RAM makes sense for Apple, is that rumors point towards a new multitasking function that will allow users to run apps side by side. Additional RAM will make that process smoother and more enjoyable for users.

iPad Air 2 Rumors

As Apple get’s closer to the anticipated release of their next generation iPads, several rumors have leaked out. Including the inclusion of Touch ID, a slight redesign, and a anti-glare screen. It is rumored that Apple will announce the new iPad Air 2 in October (based on previous year’s iPad launches).

News

iMessage is being overrun by spammers

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iMessage, Apple’s popular messaging service for iOS and OS X has been overrun by spammers, according to a new report from security researching firm Cloudmark. That isn’t that huge a surprise given that spam has been a huge problem on traditional SMS for many years.

According to the report, spam has been reported from designer fashion brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Michael Kors. The report suggests that the reason why iMessage is being used is because anyone with a lot of free iCloud accounts can send a ton of messages easily and cheaply.

imessage-spam — Example of spam seen on iMessage

The study suggests that nearly 28 percent of all iMessages were spam in July 2014. To compare, in North America only 1% of all SMS messages are spam. Though in Asia that number is 30%. It’s also worth noting that the number of text messages sent everyday using SMS technology is in the tens of billions, much more than the amount of iMessages sent every day.

iMessage Technology Causing Problems

One of the problems, according to the report, is that the way iMessage allows for “read receipts” allows for spammers to build huge lists of legitimate phone numbers. They can then sell that list to other spammers for huge amounts of money. Read receipts allow iPhone and Mac users to tell the sender when a message has been read.

This, however, isn’t an exclusively “Apple Problem”. SMS alternatives have become a huge business over the last few years. Earlier in 2014, Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $19 billion. WhatsApp is the largest mobile messaging platform behind SMS. One of the things that set these platforms apart from SMS, beyond pricing, is that they are able to offer technology like read receipts. The study suggest that Apple’s iMessage platform isn’t the only one that is seeing the influx of spam.

Users worried about being added to one of these spam lists can turn off read receipts by going into the settings app under iMessage and turning the “Send Read Receipts” option to off.

Hacking is Another Problem

While spammers are able to sign up for free iCloud accounts, the researchers found that nearly 60% of the spam sent over iMessage in May and June 2014 was sent from Apple IDs with Chinese Domains. In July most of the traffic came from Apple IDs associated with Hotmail addresses. The researchers suggest that these aren’t actually mass registered iCloud accounts, but are instead hacked accounts.

The report also found that the United States was by far the biggest target of the iMessage spam. That isn’t unexpected as the United States has the largest market share of Apple products.

OS X

Preview: Quick look at the all new OS X Yosemite

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For the fourth straight year, Apple is releasing a major update to its desktop operating system, OS X. This year the release is named Yosemite, continuing Apple’s new naming scheme based on California landmarks (last year’s update was labeled Mavericks after a California surfing hotspot).

OS X Yosemite may be one of the largest updates to the Mac OS since OS X was released in 2000, at least in terms of visual changes. Last year Apple released iOS 7 which brought a completely new design to the mobile OS; this year a lot of that same design has been implemented on the desktop. What’s new in OS X 10.10 Yosemite?

Redesigned Interface

The most major change in OS X Yosemite comes from the visual changes. The design is now much more iOS-like, taking the flat and translucent design from its mobile sibling. New icons adorn the classic Mac Dock; while a new dark option gives users the ability to make OS X a little less bright.

The main theme of the new interface is translucency. The dock, the menu bar, and the title bars of all the apps are now translucent, allowing the user to see “underneath” the app. Apple says this gives users the ability to sense depth in their applications.

Outside of the main interface, you’ll notice a redesigned Notification Center, which can now be equipped with third party widgets.

Updated Apple Apps

In addition to the main interface, all of Apple’s pre-installed applications have been updated to fit with the new look and feel of OS X Yosemite. For example the Mail app has a new look as well as some new features like in-message markup. Messages received the biggest update; it has a new look as well as allowing users to group message using iMessage.

Continuity

For people who have both a Mac and an iOS device, Apple has created a new service called Continuity. Continuity allows users to start doing one thing on their Mac (or iPhone) and continue doing it on their other device. For example, if you start browsing the web on your Mac, you can then pick up your iPad and continue browsing the same page there.

This is accomplished with a new icon that will pop up on both devices when Continuity is available. In the example above, a Safari icon would appear on the lockscreen.

Continuity also allows users who own an iPhone to take calls and send SMS messages on their Mac.

Swift

Swift isn’t something that most users of the Mac will care about. It’s a new programming language that will allow developers to code Apple applications with less code and less experience. From an end-user experience, this should mean faster applications.

Bottom Line

These are just the major updates to OS X Yosemite, there are many more under the hood. One of the biggest changes Apple has made is that it is allowing 1 million people to try the software before it is officially released in the fall with their Public Preview. This is a major change for Apple, which usually keeps its beta software under lock and key until it is polished enough for public consumption.