#100 Apple’s Secret Design Lab Where It’s Working To Make iPhones Even Thinner

PowerTech & Powertechmation: Short Bytes: Earlier this year, Apple began working on a secret design lab in Taiwan that focused on making the next-gen displays for its future devices. The latest media reports have suggested that the lab has at least 50 engineers and other employees who are working on new LCD and OLED screen technologies to make the devices even thinner.

Just like every other smartphone company, Apple is working hard to make its future smartphone thinners and more powerful. This never ending quest of the smartphone makers is motivated further by users’ fantasies to own thinner devices. To achieve this goal, Apple has opened a new production laboratory in northern Taiwan.

The secret design lab of Apple is rumored to work on the new LCD and OLED screen technologies for the future Apple devices. Exposed by Bloomberg, this lab has at least 50 engineers and other employees working upon the new screens for iPads and iPhones.

It’s being reported that Apple has recruited the manpower from the local company AU Optronics Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. This lab began its functions earlier this year to make more advanced liquid-crystal displays and adopt the use of organic LEDs which don’t even need a backlight.

This move by Apple is expected to reduce Apple’s dependency on its long-time suppliers like Samsung, LG, Sharp, and Japan Display. This report about outsourcing this job to the local manufacturers was soon reflected in the stocks of the companies that recorded a big jump.

“Shares of AU Optronics surged 7 percent, the most in four months, in Taipei and Innolux jumped 2.6 percent. Japan Display dropped 3.9 percent in Tokyo to the lowest in more than two months, and Sharp fell 1.6 percent,” writes Bloomberg.

However, Apple is yet to release any official statement about this secret facility in Taiwan. The reports suggest that Apple won’t be making this transition to the iPhone 8.

In another similar development, 60 Minutes ran a segment on Apple that featured Apple campus, Apple design studio, and the in-progress new headquarter.

Watch the complete video here.

Did you find this news about Apple’s secret lab interesting? Tell us your views in the comments below.

#91 Apple shuts the doors on Pangu Jailbreak tool in iOS 9.1

Apple closes the two exploits which allowed Pangu to create jailbreak for iOS 9

Apple is known to be a closed-source software creator and no it does not like jailbreaks! This was again proved when the company moved at lightening speed to close two of the exploits which allowed Pangu to create its untethered jailbreak for iOS 9.

Apple released iOS 9.1 today morning, only a week after the first public jailbreak for iOS 9 devices hit the web. From the looks of it, the latest iOS iteration seems to shut doors on two of the exploits used by the Chinese hacking team Pangu, whose untethered jailbreak allowed users to jailbreak nearly all iPhones, iPad and iPod touch devices running IOS versions 9.0 through 9.0.2.

However, Apple has acknowledged the Pangu team for discovering two vulnerabilities in IOS operating system. In a security document posted on Apple’s website, the Cupertino giant credited Pangu with discovering two vulnerabilities. According to the web posting, both of the vulnerabilities have now been patched though it is unknown whether Pangu team will get any bug bounty for discovering them.

These include one vulnerability that would allow a malicious application to elevate privileges, and another that would allow a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

The Apple jailbreaking community was not surprised at the closing of the two exploits because the Pangu jailbreak tool did not work with beta build of iOS 9.1. In fact, the general consensus among the jailbreaking crowd is that Pangu pushed their jailbreak just ahead of the iOS 9.1 release so that it could reach the hands of iPhone/iPad owners before the exploits were patched.

Meanwhile Pangu released a new build of their jailbreak tool (version 1.1.0) ahead of the 9.1 release of Apple this morning, Pangu said that the latest build was more stable and saw better results. The team has not said yet if it has a 9.1 hack in the works.

If you want to jailbreak your Apple devices, it is suggested that you stay away for iOS 9.1 version till Pangu or other jailbreakers find a new exploit on which they can build the next jailbreak tool. Do remember that the first malware to hit iPhones was spread through jailbroken phones.

#76 Apple’s iRing: New patent reveals a wearable ring

New patent reveals Apple is working on a smart ring with a built-in display

Apple has designed a smart ring, which could be the next piece of wearable tech from the Apple Watch maker.

The patent application known as “Devices and methods for a ring computing device” published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, discloses that it carries the description of an advanced ring-style wearable that will depend on a number of inputs such as voice, motion and touch input in order for the user to control and interact wirelessly with other computing devices. This “Apple ring” would be packed with a rechargeable power source, such as a battery.

The patent in many ways reads more like an overview of an Apple Watch but in miniature form, or those that could be added to the Watch in the future. It explains that when worn on an index finger, one could conceivably operate the ring’s touch sensitive surface with a thumb. However, to make things easier, the document also describes a mechanism similar to Apple Watch’s Digital Crown. Another option of built-in accelerometer and gyroscope modules are provided to accept gesture input with enough precision to facilitate handwriting capture. A user might even wear two rings to control multiple aspects of a host UI.

Read about iPhone 7: Top 6 New Features Expected in iPhone 7

In some iterations of the invention, Apple proposed design sports microphones for voice commands, much like Apple’s new Siri Remote for Apple TV. It also has two force feedback motors to communicate various notifications and directional information. External devices such as a computer’s mouse cursor, a camera’s shutter or a vehicle’s entertainment and climate control system can also be controlled by using the ring. It could be used as an external controller for gaming.

Though nothing has been specifically mentioned, the ring could save power by unloading voice processing to a remote device, a tactic that is adopted by the Watch. In fact, Apple’s application suggests using a keyword to trigger voice dictation, suspiciously similar to Watch’s “Hey Siri” feature and an always-on iPhone 6s version powered by Apple’s M9 motion coprocessor.

Further, Apple says users could draw characters on the ring’s touchscreen, which would then be sent out to a paired external device, such as an iPhone. The addition of a biometric sensor for sensing biometric information of the user and/or a near-field-communication transmitter for transmitting data related to the user could also allow Apple’s ring to be used in a similar manner as Touch ID for user authentication and Apple Pay mobile payment authorization. Other iterations of the product propose a built-in camera.

A wearable ring isn’t necessarily out of the domain of other technology companies. One startup called Ringly, makes a line of smart jewelry and rings that light and vibrate to notify its wearer of incoming calls, messages and app alert.

The description of the invention may not necessarily reflect how the final product will look like, as this is not a design patent. At this time, it is unknown when Apple plans to bring an Apple Ring to market, considering that this is a patent application.

Originally, Apple filed the patent application on April 1, 2015 and credits designers Marcos Regis Vescovi and Marcel van OS as the inventors. It relates to a separate unpublished application filing from 2014.

#68 Top 6 New Features Expected in iPhone 7

ANTI-OVERHEATING TECH

Some users of the iPhone 6 have been complaining about their Touch ID fingerprint sensors, saying that they have been heated thus causing the home button to be hot. If Apple’s latest patent is anything to go by, that should be a thing of the past. The United States Patent and Trademark Office published a new Apple Patent that describes how Apple will solve the problem. They have found a method to use an in-built temperature sensor that will monitor the temperature of the iPhone. This feature will most likely be in iPhone 7.

GESTURE PASSCODE

When iOS 9 was launched the users were asked to use 6-digit passwords instead of 4-digit ones. iPhone 7 could possibly transform this since Apple has been granted a patent for a gesture passcode system. It is based on non-alphanumeric inputs which are user configurable. Apple has been trying to get this feature since 2012 and they have finally been granted the patent. A gesture will be used to authentic one or more authentication screens. This feature could be in the iPhone 7 or as a software update in iOS 10. As far as security and privacy are concerned, this will definitely be a big step.

Read about: Apple to launch iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in India on October 16

INTERNALLY INSTALLED SIM CARDS

Smartphones with physical SIM cards will be a thing of the past, according to a report in the Financial Times released in late July. This project is likely to be implemented in iPhones released in 2016. The software SIM will work with multiple networks. The users will just be required to sign up for mobile data plans directly from the Settings app on their devices. There will be no long term contracts and the users can switch between the network providers anytime they like. The network carriers will definitely not like this move.

WIRELESS CHARGING

The wireless charging did not arrive with iPhone 6 as some had predicted, but it could be a reality in iPhone 7. This feature was introduced in the Apple Watch as inductive charging where the device was placed to charge on a wired mat. Hopefully, this will allow the users to just sit with their iPhones charging while in the pocket. This is not yet confirmed and we can only hope that it will be in iPhone 7.

ELEVATED JOYSTICK

It is rumored that the Home button on iPhone 7 will be able to raise or pop up on a little spring and turn into a mini joystick when playing games. This would definitely benefit the iOS gamers and sounds very interesting. The joystick will then go down after the user is playing the game. However, gamers are not a very big percentage of the device users and it would seem risky for Apple to compromise everyone’s iPhone Home Button for the benefit of the gamers’ community. The idea appeared on an Apple patent published by the US Patent Office in January 2015. The gamers out there can only pray hard that this feature will be in iPhone 7.

DYNAMIC HOME BUTTON

Apple has published a new patent for a new Home that is gesture sensitive. The user will be able to swipe across the Home button or even lean a thumb in a particular direction, to scroll the screen of a game for example. It will be capable of detecting various gestures along with the force of each touch. This feature is definitely less risky than the pop up joystick one above. It could be a possible feature in iPhone 7 but we don’t know for certain.

#63 Apple to launch iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in India on October 16

It will be the fastest ever launch of the Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in India after their global launch. It will also be made available in 140 countries by the end of this year.

Apple has announced the launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in India on October 16. The Cupertino-based tech giant confirmed the launch date of iPhones yesterday through a post. The October 16 launch will make it the fastest ever release of iPhones in India, after their global launch. Both the devices were launched globally by Apple on September 9 at an event held in San Francisco. The company has also announced the launch dates for various other countries as well as sales record for the newly launched iPhones.

The October release date might help Apple cash in on the Diwali festival season in India. The company has not said anything about the pricing of the smartphones, but it is expected to be priced around Rs. 65,000 for the base model. Interestingly, there were reports earlier that the devices are already available for pre-orders in grey markets, with prices rising above Rs. 1 Lac.

Besides announcing the launch date for India, Apple has announced that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will be launched, starting from October 9, in more than 40 countries including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan. The company further said that the latest iPhones will make their way to more than 140 countries by the end of this year. Additionally, Apple said that it has sold more than 13 million iPhones this time, and that too within three days of their launch. It broke the record of selling 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices, set last year.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook said, “Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history. Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9.” 

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus comes with various new features and improvements. The phone features the 3D Touch technology that senses the pressure of the touch on the screen to perform different tasks accordingly. Other features include Live Photos, 12MP I-sight camera, 5MP FaceTime HD camera with Retina Flash, and the latest A9 chipset. 

#46 About the new 12-inch Apple MacBook

Apple announced the all new MacBook yesterday. It is not a replacement for the MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro, the new MacBook is an addition to the line of MacBooks, targeted at users looking for a compact, slim and light laptop with an ultra high resolution display. The new MacBook has a lot of segment firsts in terms of specs, features and design elements, so let's take a look at what the MacBook is all about. The new Apple MacBook starts at 1299$, yes, that is a lot! 

Core components

Let’s start with the basics. The new MacBook will be powered by an Intel Core M chip (14nm Broadwell platform). The Intel 1.1 GHz Core M processor used in the MacBook is made for hybrid devices and high performance tablets with fanless design, employing passive cooling techniques. The graphics on the MacBook is handled by Intel HD Graphics 5300, a very basic GPU that sits at the bottom of the latest Intel Core platform. The laptop comes with 8GB RAM by default and gives a choice between 256GB or 512GB of PCIe based flash storage. 

Design 

The new MacBook looks and like an extended version of the MacBook Air. Just that it's a lot thinner, smaller and lighter while offering the same unibody design. The laptop boasts a mere 13.1 mm in width and weighs 0.92Kg. This easy to carry laptop will be available in three colours: Silver, Gold and Space Gray. Just to put things in perspective, the MacBook Air 13 weighs 1.35 kilograms and is 17mm thick. 

Build 

The unibody MacBook is made out of machined aluminum, promising the same strength and durability as the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Though, we'd reserve our judgment on the overall build quality till we review the device. 

Display

Apple has squeezed a 12-inch display in a smaller 11.04-inch chassis. The 12-inch display boasts of 2304 x 1140 pixel resolution. It is a 16:10 aspect display, just like the MacBook Air and Pro screens. Apple claims to have achieved higher brightness levels while keeping the power consumption down by increasing the aperture of each pixel. Again, a claim that we shall surely test before believing it. 

Keyboard 

The new MacBook features a 'butterfly-style' keyboard mechanism, promising even feedback and response across the entire surface area of each key. Each key on the keyboard is illuminated by dedicated LED underneath every key, promising precise backlighting. 

The 'Force Touch' trackpad

Apple has redesigned its glass trackpad, adding a haptic engine, which will send a tangible haptic feedback to the fingertips of users when they perform certain tasks. The touchpad now features Force touch sensors which will not only take into account a ‘tap’ but the pressure of the ‘tap’ as well. 

Ports? What Ports? We just have a port! Wireless & USB Type-C

With the new MacBook Apple is among the first companies to adopt the USB Type-C port. The laptop sacrifices all other regular ports like power, USB, Display, HDMI, VGA, for a single USB Type-C port. Apple is betting big on the use of wireless and customers would be required to buy suitable accessories. A headphone jack is included though. Seriously, just one part might turn off even the most hardcore Apple fan, especially when the port extending accessories cost you a bomb! 

Smallest custom Motherboard, 'logic board' in Apple's words

The new MacBook has one of the smallest motherboard ever developed. This was partly possible because of the tiny 14nm power efficient Intel Core M chip which does not require a fan to keep it cool. Besides saving space on the rotating fan, the moatherboard itself has been custom designed with the highest density of components ever on a piece of PCB. The downside? If something fries, you gotta replace the entire logic board, you can safely forget about getting this baby repaired! 

Battery

The tiny motherboard was a deliberate attempt to levy a lot of space in the tiny chassis for battery packs (or shall we call them slices?). Apple has used a custom terraced battery cell over the traditional rectangular battery pack. Apple claims that the new design helps in 35% more battery capacity. Well, you certainly need all the wizardry to power that pixel monster 12-inch screen. So, yeah, a necessity rather than a fad. And, after all this, the MacBook promises 8-10 hour battery life, the same as the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Nothing exceptional, we'd say! 

OSX

The traditional operating system of choice MacOS is present here as well. The new OS, which was recently updated is highly integrated with iOS. OSX is easy to use and features many productivity apps.

Accessories

Since the MacBook features a single USB Type-C port, there already are half-a-dozen accessories available to extend its capabilities. Apple will be broadening this list further. 

Apple also updated 13-inch MacBook Pro

Alongside the MacBook, Apple has silently updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro as well, which is getting the new fifth-gen Intel Core processors (up to 3.1GHz), Intel HD 6100 graphics, faster flash drive storage with option 10 to 12 hours of battery life. The laptop is also getting the Force Touch Trackpad. The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro already has India pricing, it starts at Rs. 94,900. 

And, the MacBook Air also gets a tiny refresh. Both MacBook Air, 11-inch and 13-inch are being updated with fifth gen Intel core processors (up to 2.2GHz), Intel HD Graphics 6000 and thunderbolt 2 ports. Out of the two the 13-inch model gets refreshed with faster flash memory chips too. The Indian pricing for the updated MacBook Air starts from Rs. 65,900.