In the middle of all the current rumors, conjecture and speculation surrounding Apple hardware, it is perhaps the future of the company's so-called hobby project that is managing to capture most of the immediate attention. The little black box has never been one of Apple's highest revenue generating creations, but has been consistently improving on its sales figures, numbers that are only set to continue to rise amid speculation of a new smaller model being introduced and the potential of additional apps being introduced during the year.
The power of voice recognition technology is being utilized by many companies across the globe, as it has been for quite some time. Siri (along with similar implementations of other platforms) has helped bring such technology to the forefront, and although the initial hype surrounding Apple's voice assistant has petered out somewhat, Honda has just announced its intention to bring Siri support to a fleet of its automobiles in the coming months.
Apple has, by means of a press release, announced that its fourth-gen iPad will now offer up to 128GB of internal storage - double the previous maximum configuration of 64GB. Apple has sold in excess of 120 million iPads to date, and with Phil Schiller noting of the consumer's preference to "work, learn and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs,” it would certainly make sense for the fruit company to offer the kind of capacity reflecting the change in habits.
The release of iOS may have been shrouded in controversy, but in terms of adoption rates, it has continually proven itself to be prolific. Early statistics showed that, despite the bad press, consumers were buying and upgrading their devices to iOS 6 at a rate of knots, and in its iOS 6.1 press release earlier today, Apple has revealed that nigh on 300 million iPhones, iPads and iPod touches are now running the latest firmware.
We've heard a lot about a so-called low-cost iPhone tailored to the smaller budget, and although Phil Schiller has spoken out to quash the rumors, the arrival of the iPad mini late last year has taught us that Apple is not afraid to go back on the word of some of its leading execs. Said budget device looks as though it might be Apple's key to unlocking the lucrative Chinese (and other developing) markets, and while we've heard enough reports to entertain the possibility of it arriving, the speculation regarding its design and form factor has begun.
It is no secret that iOS and Android devices are the leaders on the smartphone market, with outputs that greatly outweigh the other players. The latest data published on Monday shows that their lead has edged, having taken over 92.1% of smartphone shipments in the last three months of last year.
As a company, Apple has been firmly stealing the world-wide headlines over the last few days. The company's stock has fallen amid rumors of lack of demand for the iPhone 5, Exxon Mobile has reclaimed their position ahead of Apple as the world's most valuable publicly-traded company and of course the late iconic co-founder of the company has been top of the discussions list thanks to the debuting of the jOBS biopic at the Sundance Festival in Utah. If you had any trepidation about Ashton Kutcher pulling off the Steve Jobs role, then the comparison picture tweeted from Kutcher's official Twitter account should definitely lay those fears to rest.
Before a new version of iOS is released by Apple to the public, it goes through several betas, in which developers get the chance to download, assess, and note of any significant bugs or issues. This system attempts to ensure the end-user release is as smooth as possible, and while many of you will have been using iOS 6.x, work has been going on behind the scenes to prepare iOS 6.1. Today, a new Beta 5 build is now ready for download for developers only.
We've been bamboozled by the number of rumors pertaining to the next-generation iPhone, unofficially dubbed the 'iPhone 5S', and iLounge has added even more to the mixer with an update on Friday. The iPhone 5S is almost certain to feature a faster processor, something the Cupertino company has done ever since the first model, but even more interesting, is the possibility of a 13-megapixel camera sensor supplied by Sony.
If you are thinking of buying a laptop for a bargain price, you are likely not going to have much luck with Apple. Discounts on Apple products are scarce and often not too compelling, yet Best Buy is making an exception by selling MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros for up to $700 off, at least for the next 2 days.
