It's that time of year again when Apple takes it upon themselves to remove some of the pain that is commonly associated with full and part-time education. The Cupertino based company has once again kept up with what is becoming an annual tradition by announcing this year's "Back to School" promotion, which includes some great discounts for those embarking on their studies. In addition to the education based discounts, Apple is also extending the campaign by rewarding those who purchase an iPhone with a $50 gift card that can be redeemed through iTunes. More details on the offer can be found right after the jump.
We've heard a great deal about the possibility of a low-cost Apple iPhone, and although naturally, the Cupertino-based company has not come forward and made any official suggestions, the supposed sightings and rumors of the device have yet to peter out. Today, a French site has come through with a couple of shots depicting what looks a legitimate shout for the rear shell of an unspecified iPhone, and the as-speculated plastic finish only but adds to the intrigue.
In the technology blogosphere, anything to do with Apple and Samsung rivalry gains an extra spice almost instantly, even if it’s something as indirect as Apple’s microprocessor deal with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for the preparation of the Cupertino giant’s sophisticated microprocessor chips being used in the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Yes, after almost 3 years, Apple has finally managed to sign a deal with TSMC for the SoCs used in its iDevice lineup, resulting in the former moving away from relying on Samsung for the processor component.
When considering a future smartphone purchase, few take into mind the importance of a decent battery life. Bamboozled by the megapixels, dots per inch and multiple core processors, it's amazing how little regard folk give to the battery life, which has to go down as one of the most important features because without it, any exciting hardware is basically useless. Which.co.uk, a prominent observer of the mobile industry, has thrown together a rather interesting infographic on the battery retention levels of the foremost handsets on the market and, suffice to say, the results may shock you.
Apple's big move away from textures and 3D effects is well documented, and it feels like iOS 7 has dominated the news cycle for some time now. From rumor to a real shipping beta, the changes in visual design and user experience is something that has seen much discussion. While there's no doubt that Jony Ive's vision is very different to that of Scott Forstall's, it remains to be seen where the App Store's mass of developers will take their own apps once iOS 7 is closer to release.
Over the last few generations of iOS, we have seen Apple adding a bunch of new and useful features in the Accessibility options. It seems that they aren't taking their foot off the gas just yet, with iOS 7 beta introducing a number of new device control methods for those who may need to interact with their devices using head-based gestures.
Ahh, 2010. It feels so long ago doesn't it? Well it will do when we remind you that 2010 was the year of the infamous iPhone 4 found-in-a-bar shenanigans that led to all kinds of headlines the world over.
Yesterday, Apple seeded iOS 7 beta 2 to developers. The biggest news to come out of this release was the addition of iPad support, for which we've already done a full video overview, however there was also a plethora of smaller additions into the betas for iPod touch and iPhone.
The behavior of iOS 7 beta after a screenshot is taken differs significantly from what we've seen hitherto, with active screen touches "no longer canceled when the user takes a screenshot." This, for services like the popular Snapchat, means that the in-built screenshot detection is essentially nullified, and with this being an integral part of that and the likes of Facebook Poke, the security offered by said applications is under serious threat.
After treating the excited iOS developer community to iOS 7 beta 2 yesterday, Apple has now afforded the same gift to those involved in the Mac OS X developer program, by seeding the second Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks 10.9. OS X Mavericks 10.9 Developer Preview 2 will be available as an update to those who already have the first release installed, or as a new download from the Mac Member Center and comes with the build number 13A497d.
