With the announcements this week, Apple now sells iOS devices at the following sizes:
This graphic — by the wonderful Underscore David Smith — shows all of this visually.
It’s clear Apple’s trying to make a smooth range of device sizes. With rumors of a larger iPad floating around, this trend may only continue.
Dan Rayburn:
Apple’s live stream of the unveiling of the iPhone 6 and Watch was a disaster today right from the start, with many users like myself having problems trying to watch the event. While at first I assumed it must be a capacity issue pertaining to Akamai, a deeper look at the code on Apple’s page and some other elements from the event shows that decisions made by Apple pertaining to their website, and problems with how they setup storage on Amazon’s S3 service, contributed the biggest problems to the event.
There’s a lot of chatter — including in my own home — about the size of the new iPhones. This PDF (or this one) will help settle any debates. For me, it just about settled it — I’ll be ordering the 4.7-inch iPhone.
Interestingly, the larger of the two Apple Watch sizes is almost exactly the size of the Seiko 5 watch I wear now. I was afraid it’d be way too big for my wrist.
Apple:
iOS 8 will be available as a free software update starting Wednesday, September 17 for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 2, iPad with Retina display, iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad mini with Retina display. New iCloud pricing includes 5GB free, 20GB $0.99/month, 200GB $3.99/month, 500GB $9.99/month and 1TB $19.99/month. Continuity features and iCloud Drive will be available on Macs running OS X Yosemite. In October, SMS Continuity will be available as a free update to iOS 8 and iCloud Photo Library will be available as a beta. Starting in October, with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Pay will be available in the US as a free update to iOS 8. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.
Today, the clickwheel is a thing of the past. Goodbye, old friend.
David Sparks, after reminding us that the current iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display are internally identical:
If the rumor sites are to be believed, this won’t be the case with the two different sized iPhones we are expected to see next week. Not only will screen size be different but we may also have differences in camera quality. I would speculate that differences in display quality, battery life, and storage could also easily be in play. Assuming that the bigger phone does get some of the better components, what do the people who want a smaller screen with the better components do? They have to make tough choices. I suspect much digital ink will be sacrificed in relation to this question in the coming weeks.
Over on Re/code:
So that new wearable device Apple is introducing on September 9? It’s going to be a while before anyone is actually wearing it. Sources in position to know tell me it won’t arrive at market for a few months. “It’s not shipping anytime soon,” said one. So when does Apple plan to ship its eagerly anticipated wearable? That’s not clear, but my understanding is that we’re unlikely to see it at retail until after the holiday season — think early 2015.
Juli Clover:
Apple today issued invitations for its upcoming iPhone 6 event on September 9, which is also said to include its much-anticipated wearable device. According to the invitations, Apple is planning to host the event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts at De Anza College in Cupertino, the same location where Steve Jobs introduced the original Mac 30 years ago.
For the occasion, it appears that Apple has been building a massive structure on the campus, which has been kept under tight wraps with a white barricade.
Matt Richman really wants Apple to ship ARM-based Macs. Let’s look at his latest points:
Richman — who discloses that he owns 56 shares of Apple and 50 shares of ARM — writes:
If Apple’s chip design team can create a phone processor that performs on par with Intel’s fastest tablet chip, the company’s “highest priority”, then there’s no reason to believe that the same team at Apple can’t design chips powerful enough for any Mac in the company’s lineup.
John Siracusa discusses his OS X reviews.
Zach Hamed:
Ask any Mac power user about their menubar and you’ll get a different list of 5-10 must-have applications and utilities that boost productivity. The menubar is the mission control of a user’s computer, giving them an at-a-glance view of stats and apps that are important to them. The menubar can become so crowded, in fact, that’s there’s a menubar app that collects menubar apps. So meta.
Hamed’s breakdown of popular menu bar (Apple uses it as two words) apps is an excellent example of how parts of OS X feel out of control.
Apple:
Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range.
If your iPhone 5 is experiencing these symptoms and meets the eligibility requirements noted below, Apple will replace your iPhone 5 battery, free of charge.