News

New iPhone 6 battery could be 1,810 mAh or more

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According to a rumor, the new iPhone 6 may see a significant increase in battery capacity. Analyst Sun Chang Xu stated on social media that the highly anticipated iPhone 6 will come equipped with a 2,100mAh battery, which is a 45% increase in capacity over the current iPhone 5s.

The iPhone 5s has a 1,440mAh battery. Over the last few generations of iPhones, the capacity of the battery hasn’t differed significantly. Most of the iPhone’s battery improvements over that time have come from software optimizations done in iOS.

Apple will be able to include a larger battery because of the extra space provided by the larger screen, however that may not relate to longer life given the obvious increase in demand for power. It is widely expected that Apple will announce a 4.7 inch and a 5.5 inch iPhone 6 some time in September (recent rumors point to September 9 for the announcement).

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New iPhone 6 battery shown by the French site nowhereelse.fr

The battery capacity of the upcoming iPhone has been one of the least consistent rumors over the last few months. In July, a photo of a 1,810mAh battery floated around the internet. That would only be a slight increase over the 5s and could point to only a slight improvement in battery life, or perhaps none at all.

Recently, however, more reports similar to the rumor from Sun Chang Xu have surfaced. Historically, Apple has spent more time optimizing their software than building in ultra high capacity batteries in their devices. With iOS 8 arriving this fall, it’s possible that could be the case again.

The difference in this cycle, it seems, is that the amount of power that the iPhone 6 will require will be higher because of the significantly larger screen size. To put it all in perspective, some Android phones (which have had larger screen sizes for some time now), have significantly longer battery lives compared to the smaller iPhone.

The iPhone 6 is expected to bring a complete hardware redesign to the most popular smartphone in the world. Historically, Apple brings a new hardware design on whole number releases of the iPhone (iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 5), while bringing incremental updates in between (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5s). The iPhone 6, if rumors are to be believed, will keep on with this tradition.

The only thing the Apple community knows for sure is that nothing is set in concrete until Tim Cook steps on stage to announce the new device.

News

Apple iPhone 6 will be introduced to the world on September 9th

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According to a new report, Apple may be planning to release the highly anticipated iPhone 6 on September 9. The report comes from the technology site Re/code, which has a staunch reputation when it comes to getting Apple rumors right.

Others reputable sources are also confirming the date:

The iPhone 6 is expected to come in two new screen sizes, 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch. Some reports have speculated that the larger size will be delayed until later this year or early 2015 due to production issues.

In addition to bigger screens the device is expected to be totally redesigned. Over the last several months there have been multitudes of leaks pointing to a new mostly-aluminum design with rounded corners, similar to that of the current generation iPod Touch.

One of the most contested rumors points to the use of a sapphire display. The use of sapphire for the display would allow for a near indestructible front panel for the new smartphone. Apple’s devices are notoriously easy to break. The problem for Apple (and any other company that wants to use the material in their phone) is that it is difficult and expensive to produce en mass. This has led to some rumors that say that a sapphire screen will be included on the iPhone 6; some that say that it’ll only be included on the 5.5 inch version; and some that say that it won’t be included at all because of those production issues.

Internally, there isn’t much known about the iPhone 6 upgrades. Based on past releases, it is safe to assume that the iPhone 6 will see a faster processor. Battery life and capacity is another rumor that hasn’t been consistent over the last few months. Some reports point to the same size battery in the iPhone 6 as is already in the iPhone 5s. This points to slightly worse battery life due to the extra strain added by a larger screen. Yet other reports point to a significant upgrade for the iPhone 6 battery.

Other hardware rumors point towards the use of a new Wi-Fi chip (802.11ac), the possible inclusion of NFC for the first time, and the inclusion of wireless charging technology. Many of these rumors are considered extremely sketchy by those in-the-know.

Finally, it’s known (or at least safe to assume) that the device will launch with iOS 8, which is a significant upgrade from iOS 7. One of the features users are looking forward to the most is called extensions, which will allow app developers to send data and interfaces between third party apps. This also means that iOS will see third party keyboards and third party widgets for the first time.

When it comes to Apple rumors, it’s best to take everything with a grain of salt. No pundit or technology journalist knows exactly what Apple will announce when Tim Cook takes the stage on September 9.

News

Apple releases Q3 results sees profit of $7.7 billion with continued iPhone sales growth

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With Apple recently releasing their Q3 results, we as consumers get to sit back and gaze at their new staggering financial numbers, including a record $37.4 billion in total revenue. Gaining $7.7 billion in profit over the quarter, one can see why they have stock piles of cash on reserve, estimated to be somewhere around $150 billion. What can we tell from the numbers and see through the blanket marketing statements from the company? In a nut shell, iPhone sales are booming and iPad sales are dragging.

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Apple 2014 Q3 Results

The good thing about Tim Cook and Apple in general is that they quickly, although at first quietly, address issues. Evaluating the iPad’s future can be difficult after all technology changes so fast. We know this much, that the iPad has more upside then downside. Look at the business market, dominated by Microsoft for decades, Apple is ready to bounce where they see opportunity. Recently announcing a landmark deal with IBM to bring corporate data and mobile devices together better than ever before, Apple is showing a willingness to explore partnerships that make sense. To be honest with that kind of cash reserve who can blame them. They are a lot better off then some of their closest competitors. With Microsoft laying off 18,000 workers it’s clear to see Apple is dominating, staying fiscally lean and technologically innovative.

With OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 coming out in the fall, Apple is looking to integrate both operating systems into a seamless experience for their users. Every product launch Apple checks another item off our wish list. Add rumors of the iPhone 6 and iWatch into the mix and consumers are always hungry for the latest from Apple. Of course there is always room for debate, enter the standard who’s copying who topics that spring up during new releases. In the end they deliver.

Who benefits from Apple’s robust business and financial tactics? Well the easy answer are the Apple fanatics around the world who rejoice when using their great products. But the real answer are the Apple shareholders who gained a cool $1.28 per share stemming from the billions in quarterly profit. Throw in a cash dividend of $.47 per share this August and a stock yield of just under 2% you are looking at some happy investors. Their recent stock split has others asking if now is the time to buy.

If you missed Apples’s fiscal results conference call you can catch it here, though it’s usually taken down in 2 weeks. Tim Cook provides some additional insights to next quarter and answers some tough questions.

How-To

How to delete duplicate songs in iTunes

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Over time, we as fastidious music collectors, obtain album after album of songs from our favorite artists, just to discover that we already had that song in our iTunes library. If that sounds familiar, here’s how you can go about deleting duplicate songs in iTunes for Mac.

Note: In order for this process to work, you must be in “Song” view. It will not work in Album or Artist view.

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. In the file menu, Click View.
  3. Next, click Show Duplicate Items.
  4. iTunes will now do a ton of work for you, and will display just the songs that are named exactly the same.

Now here comes the tedious part. Instead of showing only one copy of each song, it shows both (or however many copies you have) copies. So you’ll have to go through each one and select the copy you want to delete from your library.

  1. Hold down the Command key, and select each title that you want to delete.
  2. Once you’ve selected everything you want to delete, simply drag it to the trash in the Dock.
  3. Empty the Trash by right clicking on the Trash icon and selecting Empty.

You’ll want to be careful. A few artist are fond of releasing songs that are named the same title as other songs, but have a different beat or mix. iTunes won’t be able to tell the difference. So you could delete a song even if it isn’t the same. So, to fix this problem, iTunes has a function that lets you find and delete only exact copies of particular songs. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Open iTunes
  2. In the file menu, Click View.
  3. Hold down the Option key. You’ll see the item that used to say “Show Duplicate Items” change to Show Exact Duplicate Items. Click it.
  4. Now instead of showing you every song that is named the same, it’ll show you ones that are exactly the same, down to the file size, and beat.
  5. Like in the other process, hold down the Command key, and select the songs you no longer want to keep.
  6. Drag them to the Trash container in the Dock.
  7. Empty the Trash by right clicking on the Trash icon and selecting Empty.

And that’s it! It’s a very simple way of discovering duplicate tracks in your music library. There are tons of apps out there that do similar things, and offer fine-grained control over what is considered a duplicate. So if you don’t have success with this built in method, simply search the Mac App Store for “Duplicates” and you should be able to find an app to suit your needs.

Mac

Top 3 accessories for a new MacBook owner

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New to the Mac? Did you just go out and buy a new Mac Pro? Well it’s time to look for some great accessories that almost every Mac owner should have. That Mac is great, but it does have its limitations. With some of these accessories, you can work better without adding a ton to your budget.

Anker USB 3.0 9 Port Hub With Smart Charging Port

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9 Port USB Hub

Unless you have a Mac Pro (old or new), you probably have run out of USB ports. The iMac only has a couple, and every Apple laptop only has two or three. So it doesn’t take long to run out in this world where everything connects via USB.

The Anker USB Hub, has 9 ports, will charge everything up to an iPad without being plugged into your laptop/desktop, and is USB 3.0. The only thing that would make it better is if they threw in a couple extra Thunderbolt ports, but you can’t get everything you want.

The downside is that it’s pricey. But you’ll be hard pressed to find one that looks great next to your beautiful Mac, and has 9 ports ($60).

Apple Magic Mouse

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Apple Magic Mouse

We’ve looked and looked for the perfect mouse for the Mac, and there are just not very many that fit the Mac aesthetic. Logitech makes some really great mice, but they tend not to last very long unless you spend more than $100.

So we’ve settled on the Apple Magic Mouse. Now if you’ve purchased an iMac, you probably already have one of these. If not, you’ll need to buy it separate. The great part is that because it is made by Apple, it has gesture support built in, so you won’t lose functionality if you’ve decided to leave your track pad behind.

Sometimes a track pad just isn’t precise enough, the Magic Mouse takes care of that ($73).

Specialty Screen Cleaner Kit

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Belkin Cleaning Kit

All Macs have screens of some sort, even if you’ve had to buy it separately. Even if you use a desktop, your screen will get dusty and smudged over time. We’ve linked to a nice cleaner kit for LCDs and LED screens, but you can find something else if $15 is too pricey.

Basically it just comes with spray that is safe for a screen and a microfiber rag. Wipe your screen down once a month and it’ll continue to look awesome ($15).

Bottom Line

Obviously we could have listed several more, and if we had gotten specific to certain computers, we could have listed even more. If you have a MacBook for instance, an Ethernet to USB connector is almost a must have. We also failed to include a great external optical drive, so there’s that as well.

Many Mac users will start accumulating accessories from the time they buy their first Mac until they die. New things come out, and as tech people we love to look at shiny new things. It’s just human nature.