Tag Archives: iphone

iPhone X Launch Day. Worth the upgrade?

3/11/2017 – The launch of the brand new, highly anticipated Apple iPhone X in Australia.

There’s no doubt that the new flagship Apple smartphone is stunning with its 5.8inch OLED display, but is the extravagant price really worth it?

Let’s go over a few of the specs of this gorgeous new smartphone

Capacity Size Weight Display Water Resistence Chip Camera Charging Operating System
64/256GB 5.65×2.79inch 174g

6.14oz

5.8inch

OLED

IP67 rating A11 Bionic 12MP Back

7MP Front

Wireless

Lithium-ion battery

iOS 11

 

First things first, let’s go over the look of the Apple iPhone X

There’s no doubting its aesthetics with a large 5.8inch OLED display holding a screen resolution of 2436 x 1125 pixel resolution at 458 ppi – Which sadly, still hasn’t caught up with Samsung’s Galaxy S8 impressive 2960 x 1440 at 570 ppi, BUT we must also consider the fact that the stock setting for the Samsung Galaxy S8 screen resolution setting is set to 2220 x 1080 at 570 ppi. This is probably to enhance the battery life for the Galaxy S8.

The iPhone X is just 5.8mm taller than the iPhone 8, but the iPhone 8+ is a huge 14.8mm taller than the iPhone X. It’s also handy to keep in mind that the iPhone X is the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S8, so if you’re not happy with your current Samsung and are thinking about converting, you’ll be used to this phone in your hand.

With the screen resolution specs out of the way, let’s get back to the actual look of the Apple iPhone X

The most obvious stand-out difference between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 is the fact that the screen has stretched out to almost the entire length of the phone, consequently abolishing any home button. This change is resulting in a love-hate indifference between Apple enthusiasts. This change means that any full screen viewing will have an annoying black panel (your speaker and front camera) in the way of your viewing pleasure. Though this is a little drawback, I’m sure after a few weeks of use, this will no longer bother you.

Apple are now claiming they have “the most durable glass in any smartphone” – But don’t let this fool you into thinking you won’t need a case. If you drop this iPhone X, it will shatter. Glass is still glass at the end of the day, and we know that glass is fragile, so I don’t recommend leaving things to chance – get a case.

So, there’s no home button now. How am I meant to return to the home screen?

It’s pretty simple – Just swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Now, to get to the control centre of your new iPhone X, you’ll have to swipe down from the top of the screen from the left side. Swiping down from the right will open your notifications. Sounds simple, right?

Obviously with the absence of a home button on the iPhone X, there is no fingerprint scanner anymore, but not to worry! – FaceID has replaced TouchID. One more thing to cover on the absence of the home button. How do I switch between the apps that I’m using? Okay, imagine that your new iPhone X still has a home button. To swipe right, swipe your finger/thumb from the bottom left corner of the phone and draw an imaginary semi-circle over where the home button used to be. The same goes for swiping left, but swap sides.

OLED Display

It’s great to see that Apple have finally upped their screen resolution game and followed Samsung steps in ditching the IPS LED displays (which are still great!) and moved onto the OLED display, giving a much richer display with the ability to turn off and on any pixels that aren’t needed at any time.

Is the Apple iPhone X faster than the iPhone 8?

In short, yes.

Both the X and 8 have the same processor, the A11 chip – but the difference between the two in terms of speed is seen because of the size of the chips. Apple have managed to shrink the size of the new A11 chip for the iPhone X, allowing them more room for additional transistors into their new flagship smartphone. This will help improve the performance and the battery life of the new iPhone X.

Apple are actually claiming that their new flagship iPhone X is going to last 2 hours longer than their former iPhone 7. Not only have Apple upped their battery performance in the new iPhone X, but the new A11 chip has a new Apple designed Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), breaking off their relationship with Imagination Technologies – This means faster processing during game time and creation apps, but if you’re just scrolling through Facebook or checking your emails, you won’t notice a difference.

Wireless Charging of the Apple iPhone X & iPhone 8

Apple have finally introduced wireless charging in the iPhone X and iPhone 8 thanks to the new glass backs. A feature that Samsung have been running in their flagship phones since early 2015 in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Although it is important to note that wireless charging does not charge your phone as fast as wired charging (maybe one day it will!)

Apple have designed their own wireless charging accessory called AirPower, which actually has the ability to charge more than one phone at once. It is fair to note that this isn’t the first wireless charger with that ability. Of course, I should mention just in case anyone thought Apple had a change of mind, there is certainly no jack for your headphones (hope you still have that dongle!)

Finally, let’s talk about the camera of the Apple iPhone X & iPhone 8

The biggest difference in cameras from the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X is the latter has the superior aperture rate of f/2.4. Of course, the iPhone X has a dual camera which will allow for greater zoom capabilities and depth-of-field effects. So overall, the difference between camera capability between the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X is not a lot, BUT if you’re coming from an iPhone 6S or 6S Plus, you will notice a more dramatic change in picture quality. The iPhone X can now record at 4K video at 60fps, and even slow-motion at 1080p at 240fps.

Do I upgrade to the Apple iPhone X?

Well we did, and we love it!

How to rotate a video on iPhone or iPad

You’ll be surprised to learn that iOS on both the iPhone and iPad don’t give you an option to rotate video. Photos yes, videos however are currently limited to clipping the length of the video only. Which leaves many people asking the popular questions: How to rotate a video on iPhone? or How to flip a Video?

Simple answer is, you’ll need to download and install an app from the Apple App Store to give you better functionality.

We’ve all shot video the wrong way at one point or another. There are even memes out there scolding and making fun of people for shooting vertical video. Monitors and tv’s are generally horizontal, which is the preferred video shooting orientation.

vertical-video-meme

One of our favorite apps to rotate video and more is Video Rotate and Flip by Wander bit. There are many apps out there to help you rotate video on the iPhone or iPad, but Video Rotate and Flip is the easiest to understand and has the most functionality. You can even flip your video in case you wanted to correct backwards text.

how-to-rotate-iphone-video

The app is one of the only rotating apps that can work as an extension, which allows you to edit your video files in the native iOS photos app. Here are some quick instructions after installing the application on how to rotate a video on the iPhone or iPad:

  1. Open the Photos App and select the video you want to rotate or flip
  2. Tap on the Edit Button in the upper right corner (The icon looks like 3 dots in a circle)
  3. Tap on More and click the Video Rotate & Flip extension to activate (Done the first time only)
  4. Use the controls to rotate or flip your video
  5. Click Done to save any changes

You can also use the native application to edit video if you choose though most seem to find editing in the Photos App is more convenient. Of course if this app can’t help you rotate iPhone video, you can always use various desktop applications like iMovie for Mac or Windows Movie Maker for PC.

Download – Video Rotate And Flip

 

iPhone sales struggle as Apple posts first quarterly sales decline since 2003

With how well Apple has been doing in recent years, most expected the first quarter of 2016 to be another success. After all, Apple stock has continued to grow for years now and they continue to dominate the smartphone and tablet market. Unfortunately, the first quarter of 2016 was not kind to Apple.

According to Apple’s quarterly report released this week, the first quarter revenue for 2016 was $50.55 billion, which is down by 13% from their $58 billion quarter last year. Not only that, but profit was down as well–Apple reported a profit of $10.52 billion compared with $13.57 billion the previous quarter.

In addition to this, Apple reported that iPhone sales were just 51.19 million for Q1 2016. This represents a significant drop from the 61.17 million units sold last quarter. iPad sales were down for the ninth straight quarter as well. The Apple Watch generated $6 billion in sales during its first year, which might seem significant–except it’s just a drop in the bucket when compared to the company’s $233 billion revenue overall for last year. Sales for the Mac line of computers were down, too.

Given the sharp sales decline across the board, some may assume that Apple is in bad shape. That’s not really the case, though. Apple currently is said to have cash on hand of over $200 billion. They have announced plans to return roughly $250 billion to shareholders by April 2018. They will also be buying back roughly $175 billion in stocks.

Both Apple’s cash on hand and buyback program point to the company continuing to be very financially secure. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Wall Street Journal this week that it was “a very challenging quarter,” but that Apple is not in decline.

I am inclined to agree with Cook’s assessment of the news. With how hot Apple’s iPhone has been since debuting in 2007, slowed growth was inevitable. Factor in that Apple’s current iPhone is so good that upgrading yearly is no longer absolutely necessary, and it’s easy to see why demand for new iPhones might be down. Other manufacturers are dealing with the same problem of slowed growth in the smartphone and tablet market, as well.

What will be telling is Apple’s revenue and profit for the remaining 2016 quarters. Continued sharp decline will not bode well for the company. At this point, though, there’s nothing to be worried about.

Is Apple considering becoming a mobile carrier?

On August 3, in a now unavailable page, Business Insider reported that Apple might becoming a mobile carrier by launching a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service in the US and Europe. This rumor got a lot of attention, because it would be amazing if it were true. Using an Apple SIM card to hop around mobile carrier networks depending on signal strength seems like a good business decision for Apple, and a good service for consumers. Apple, however, denied the rumors.

Apple already has Apple-SIM for iPads, which let Apple act as an MVNO, but has yet to expand this service to its iPhone. Although Apple has thus far denied the rumors, it is still very possible they may in the future launch a MNVO.

Currently there are many MNVOs regionally available, like Boost Mobile, TracFone, FamilyTalk Wireless, and many others. Apple becoming an international MNVO would be a serious move in this industry. Unfortunately, this rumor is still in “rumor” stage, where companies will publicly deny everything. Hopefully the Apple mobile carrier rumors will develop like the Apple car/Project Titan have, into real projects substantiated by more than unnamed sources.

Apple’s strong denial of the MNVO report suggests to some at The Verge that Apple might not be involved in becoming an MNVO at all. The usual response to a “true” rumor from the Cupertino company is silence.

How to remove the free U2 album from iTunes and iPhone

Apple recently automatically gave everyone with iTunes a free copy of U2’s new album “Songs of Innocence,” but many people are actually up in arms about this digital intrusion. Some simply are not fans or even follow that genre of music.

Apple will not let you delete the album but it is easy to hide the album in iTunes. In fact you may not even see the album at first in your library if you don’t have “Show All Music” setting enabled.

Heres how to hide the album from iTunes:
  1. Open iTunes
  2. Navigate to the iTunes Store
  3. Click on Purchased under Quick Links
  4. Locate U2’s “Songs of Innocence”
  5. Hover and Click the X in the upper-left-hand corner of the album

That album is now hidden in iTunes, but you’ll still see it on your iPhone because of the “Show All Music” setting we mentioned earlier.

Lets take a look at how to fix that on your iPhone:
  1. On your iPhone, navigate to Settings
  2. Select Music
  3. Turn off Show All Music

Done! Enjoy your U2 free iPhone and iTunes.