The Apple Special Media event is so close! What to expect?

The decorations are going up at The Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco, and with only 2 days left, it’s the calm before the Apple Special Media Event storm.

Come 10:00 AM PST on the 9th, Tim Cook will present us with what Apple’s been working on. Not all of it, of course, we shouldn’t expect any self driving cars or line of sight teleportation (yet), but what can we expect?

*The tagline on the press invitations and the posters for the event is ‘Siri Give me a hint’. Unsurprisingly, Siri has not been forthcoming.

*The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Some are saying that the whole iPhone 6S Plus name is a little too mouthy, and suggest that Apple will either jump to the name iPhone 7 instead, or  -rather more drastically – switch the naming sequence to something new altogether.

* There are reports that we will also see a smaller 4 inch iPhone in the style of the iPhone 5C, however this is sounding less and less likely, at least at this point. If the iPhone 5C isn’t replaced, we’re looking at it’s mid-term extinction.

*The new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus models will be made of less bendy 7000 Series aluminum, which features on the Apple Watch Sport ( and competition bicycles, so there you have that). This has reportedly made both the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus 0.2mm thicker, but 2 grams lighter. Apparently the change in thickness will not be something you can notice, so current cases will still fit.

*Also seen on the Apple watch and presumed to be carried over to the new models of iPhone is the Force Touch feature, where you can access and use different features dependent on the pressure of your touch.

*Both iPhones will see significant upgrades to the camera, with 12 Megapixels instead of 8 on the rear camera, and the front camera getting a 5-megapixel sensor with an accompanying flash. Also rumored is the ability to shoot 4k video.

*Both iPhones will get a new A9 Processor and 2GB of ram.

*A new color of Rose Gold is expected, as is improved Touch ID.

*Pre-orders, if accepted, should start September 11th, with the official launch on September 18. Probably (It is Apple after all!)

*A significant update to Apple TV is set to be announced. After almost 3 years of no updates, now we’re looking at getting a slimmer more powerful device with a new more intuitive software design, Siri, an App store, and -long overdue – better search functionality, more than likely using Siri.

*Also using Siri and/or a touchpad feature will be a new Apple TV Remote.

*There are rumors of an iPad Pro – an iPad targeted at professionals with a bigger screen (12.9 inch display), an A9 processor and 2GB of RAM, and – maaaaybe possibly – a stylus.

*There are rumors of new Apple Watch wristbands, and an iPad Mini 4, but not much has been said about either.

* It all starts at 10:00 AM PST. Apple will be streaming it live here.  If you’re looking to upgrade to the new iPhone models, consider selling your old iPhone here for cashmoney! 

Amazon introduces offline viewing

Amazon has just announced a pretty baller new ability for those who have the Amazon Video iOS or Android app.  You guys ready for this? You can now download movies and TV Shows for offline viewing.

Whaa?

Yup. For those times when internet connection just isn’t good enough to stream, or non existent, now you can watch Amazon content whatever whenever!

This feature has been available to users of Amazon-branded Fire phones and tablets, but the rollout for iOS and Android is more than welcome!

Amazon is the first video streaming company to allow this, with Netflix’s Director of Corporate Communications Cliff Edwards saying last year that offline viewing was ‘never going to happen’. Uh, never until this year, right Cliff? He did have a point, however, saying that limited Wi-Fi availability was the issue we needed to be looking at.

Until that problem is fixed (Hi Google!), those of us who do want/need to watch content offline, thanks a bunch Amazon!

Amazon is also changing the name of it’s service from Amazon Instant Video, to Amazon Video.

Apple Music Festival

Every September, Apple holds a Music Festival in London – until now it has been called the Apple iTunes Festival, but this year, due to the introduction of Apple Music, it has been renamed  the Apple Music Festival. It has also been cut from the previous 30 night period, to just 10 days from September 19th through September 28th.

It’s a free festival, which is pretty awesome, and this year will see performances by The Weeknd, The Chemical Brothers, Take That, James Bay, and Leon Bridges, Pharrell, One Direction, Little Mix, Disclosure, and Florence + the Machine.

If you aren’t in London and can’t make it across the Pond, don’t sweat it, as every performance will be streamed live and on demand via Apple Music.

Stay tuned here!  http://www.applemusicfestival.com/

Startup of the week!

Going on a vacation soon? Got some extra cash to make some stellar memories? Check these guys out. Flytographer is a new startup offering to help you make the best memories from your vacation.

In over 150 cities all over the world, they’ll provide you with a professional photographer to catch memories that aren’t selfies, taking photos of you and your loved ones, families, friends and frenemies in the most flattering and natural way possible. The photographers are also locals, so can share some tips on the city you’re in.

Pretty sweet, right? Who doesn’t want to look baller whilst on vacation?  Starting at $250 USD.

Skype updates for all hooray!

Hands up who uses Skype? Defiantly and definitely one of the very best of the video calling software services, Skype has just announced a line up of new updates for both its iOS and Android Apps.

Update now to version 6.0 and you can expect a new more intuitive design, enhanced search, and features such as swipe gestures and sharing a host of media whilst on a call. It’s a nice update. But Skype, we love you, but seriously get your group-video-calling-for-iOS-butts into gear already!!

If you haven’t yet, get Skype for iOS here.