Tag: iOS

Posted on

iOS 9 on the 9th of 9, 2015.

Hey Siri, give us a hint. Apple Event 20150909

Mark your calendar for Apple special event “Hey Siri, give us a hint.” on September 9, 2015. Apple will be providing live stream of the event.

Requirements: Live streaming uses Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology. HLS requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with Safari on iOS 7.0 or later, a Mac with Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X v10.8.5 or later, or a PC with Edge on Windows 10. Streaming via Apple TV requires a second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.

Edge on Windows 10, that’s interesting.

The event will take place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco at 10:00 am.

The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is a 7000 capacity arena, as such it has several elevated tiers of seating around an open plan hall.

Now, who would be the musical guest for the event?

Alongside the new models of iPhone, Apple would be introducing expanded Siri functionality across multiple devices; at least that’s what firstnameatappledotcom hinted at.

Posted on

‘Twas The Night Before Apple WWDC 2015

wwdc15-hero_2x

Apple will kick off this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference at 10:00 a.m. San Francisco time.

As usual in addition to Apple live stream1 of the Keynote, some sites will provide live coverage.

WWDC 2015 Live Stream

Apple’s own live blog
Warning, Autoplay!

Links will be added when they are made available (or if the author of this post is not slacking – ed).

There are a lot of expectations with regard to what apple would announce at WWDC. Remember, this is a developer event; so don’t expect introductions of new iPhone or iPad on Monday. In 2010 Apple introduced iPhone 4 at WWDC. Since then Apple introduced new iPhone on its own event in the September-October time.

To dispel (or fueled) some rumors on Apple products, firstnameatappledotcom, who claimed to be definitely not Phil Schiller, told me a few things on and off the record.

firstnameatappledotcom: “Seriously, you won’t tell anyone all the stuff I said OFF THE RECORD, will you?”

Certainly, because I want firstnameatappledotcom to keep his/her job at Apple.

firstnameatappledotcom: “Some of us really want to stick it to the Apple Rumor sites and call it iOS 8.5 instead of iOS 9.”

That’d be hilarious since both Tech Press and Community assume that the next iOS will be called iOS 9.

firstnameatappledotcom: “Rotate the 8 90° and we get iOS ∞. Forget iOS 9”

Just like the seemingly perpetual OS X (read: OS Ten)?
By the way, iOS 8.4 beta 3 was last released on May 11, 2015; iOS 8.4 Golden Master is likely to be released during WWDC week.

me: “What else do you feel like blabbing about?”

firstnameatappledotcom: “It is reckless to assume that Force Touch will be in the next iPhone and iPad.”

firstnameatappledotcom: “Just because Force Touch is in the Apple Watch and MacBooks, doesn’t mean it works well on the iPhone.”

I have thought about that. There are a lot of elements to deal with bringing feature such as Force Touch to a larger touch screen device. For sure the Tech Press, analysts and pundits ignore the challenges.

firstnameatappledotcom: “Some expect Apple Watch to have plethora of sensors, GPS module, cellular connectivity, etc. At the same time they want Apple Watch to be thin and have ultra long battery life. Seriously, you can’t have all those features with the current state of our technology.”

Apple Research & Development department are certainly looking into those features.

me: “I can think of one Apple Watch feature that is relatively easy to incorporate to iOS. I’d like to see iOS gaining “doodle” or “sketch” feature. From Apple Watch to iPhone, iPad, iPod touch; vice versa.”

firstnameatappledotcom: “I can’t tell you on the record about unannounced features or products. One of the hardest parts is to figure out which features would be suitable for any products. Apple R&D comes out with tons of ideas for products, a lot of them didn’t even make it past prototype stage.”

I guess we’ll have to wait for WWDC 2015 Keynote to see what’s coming from Apple for the next 6 months.

——-

  1. Live streaming video requires Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X v10.8.5 or later; Safari on iOS 6.0 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later. ↩︎
Posted on

Apple Watch Sells… But Who’s Buying?

Apple Watch 20150424

Apple Watch pre-order started at roughly 12:01 a.m. on April 10, 2015. Within the first minute, some models of Apple Watch shipping time slipped to 4-6 weeks. John Gruber says:

I get the feeling supply is low and demand is high.

There sure are a lot of interest in the Apple Watch. Apple CEO, Tim Cook says that the responses have been “extraordinary”. Apple Watch sells, but who’s buying?

John Gruber said in his review:

In short, I think Apple Watch might be a tougher sell to current watch wearers than non-watch wearers. Non-watch wearers have an open wrist, and if they cared about the glance-able convenience of an always-visible watch dial, they would be wearing a traditional watch already. Watch wearers, on the other hand, already have something on their wrist that Apple Watch needs to replace, and the reason they already have a watch on their wrist is that they care about telling time at a glance — something Apple Watch is (and only ever will be, I suspect) merely OK at, not great at.

The last time I wore a watch was back in college. I stopped wearing it when the glass face cracked for some unknown reasons. I have pre-ordered an Apple Watch Sport, 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band. At this point in time, I do not know if I would wear the Apple Watch or any watches after the learning period. I had been getting a lot of questions from friends and acquaintances if Apple Watch is for them. My answer is always “it’s not for you.”

The other question I get a lot is if they should wait for the next version of Apple Watch because some reviews say “skip Apple watch this time, because the next one will be better.”

II would be really worried if the next version of Apple Watch would be worse that the current model.

If you feel like getting an Apple Watch now, then get it. Well, you have to wait until June for the earliest delivery.

Posted on

Get Ready to Pre-Order Apple Watch

Apple Store Offline Apple Watch Pre-Order

Apple Store went offline ahead of Apple Watch Pre-Order, which starts at 12:01 a.m. on April 10, 2015.

I asked John Gruber which Apple Watch he would buy with his own cash. Gruber said he would get the Space Black Stainless Steel Case with Space Black Link Bracelet Apple Watch. Gruber also said that the Apple Watch Sport models are “tremendous value”.

Gruber spent a week or so using an Apple Watch.

Personally I like the Space Black Stainless Steel Case with Space Black Link Bracelet Apple Watch too. The price tag is one thing that prevent me from buying one. I think I’m gonna get Space Gray Aluminum Apple Watch Sport, for science.

I have not worn any watches for 20 years.

Posted on

On The Eve of Apple Watch Event

Apple-Watch-Home-Screen

Sunday, March 8 marks the beginning of Daylight Savings Time in some regions of the world. Those in the Northern Hemisphere remind themselves to “Spring Forward”, setting up the clocks one hour ahead before going to bed on Saturday night.

On Monday, March 9, 2015, Apple will be holding an event aptly named “Spring Forward”; an obvious reference of Time. Apple will largely be talking about its next product, the Apple Watch.

Apple March 2015 Spring Forward

The “Spring Forward” event will be streamed live on March 9, 2015 at 10 a.m. PDT.

There are many speculations and supposed leaks about the Apple Watch announcements. Some are obvious and some are pure weapons-grade Bolognium.

John Gruber, who would be unable to attend the event, shared his thoughts (1) (2) on the Apple Watch on Daring Fireball. Well thought out and logical.

Based on off-the-records conversations with a spouse of a key Apple employee, there are a few “surprises” with regards to the “Spring Forward” event.

My own thought:

There are many reasons why I did not wear watches for years. One of them happened during my high school years. I shortly wore wristwatch in college, due to necessity. After the glass broke, I stopped wearing it. It has been quite some times.

I am interested in Apple Watch because I found several use case. I don’t want anyone to see that I am wearing any watches, let alone the Apple Watch. I might have to wear long sleeve shirts almost all the time now. Yeah, I’m going to get one, most likely the Apple Watch Sport.

All will be revealed on Monday, March 9, 2015.

Posted on

Desperate and Delusional BlackBerry CEO

Desperate and Delusional BlackBerry CEO

BlackBerry CEO, John Chen:

Unfortunately, not all content and applications providers have embraced openness and neutrality. Unlike BlackBerry, which allows iPhone users to download and use our BBM service, Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service. Netflix, which has forcefully advocated for carrier neutrality, has discriminated against BlackBerry customers by refusing to make its streaming movie service available to them. Many other applications providers similarly offer service only to iPhone and Android users. This dynamic has created a two-tiered wireless broadband ecosystem, in which iPhone and Android users are able to access far more content and applications than customers using devices running other operating systems. These are precisely the sort of discriminatory practices that neutrality advocates have criticized at the carrier level.

I wonder if John Chen realized how ridiculously wrong he is. The chief reason BlackBerry “allows” iPhone and Android users to download and use BBM service is that an overwhelming majority of users do not want BlackBerry phone. Thus, less and less people using BlackBerry BBM service.

BlackBerry, formerly Research In Motion, dismissed the threat of the iPhone back in 2007. That’s one of their first mistakes.

BlackBerry would never care to release BBM on other platform if they were the most popular platform.  Right now they are just desperate to keep the company afloat. John Chen is just delusional. Apple and Netflix do not have the obligations to make any of their services available on each and every single platform out there.

P.S.
One of my associates is still a BlackBerry user; she just acquired a BlackBerry classic. Yet, she prefers using SMS on the phone and iMessage on her iPad.
My relatives are still using BBM on their Android phones, that’s because they were BlackBerry users. They were.