Apple is getting San Francisco’s Moscone Center ready for their annual Worldwide Developers Conference! New banners recently added feature OS X 10.10 and, as you can see below, iOS 8 ( photo supplied by Business Insider’s Jaw Yarow).
iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 will both be featured in the keynote speech that kicks off the whole event, starting 10am PST on Monday morning.
Taking place in San Francisco’s Moscone building, Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference will kick off with a 2 hour keynote speech headed by Tim Cook at 10AM PST, Monday the 2nd of June!
Are you psyched?
So here’s the deal as far as we know it.
Apple hasn’t announced the content of a lot of their WWDC sessions and they have been given names such as: “To be announced” “No comment”,”Shhh, can’t tell you” “This one is sealed”, and “You’ll never guess”.
Click on these sessions and Apple says: “The title and description of this session will be revealed after Keynote on Monday June 2. Check back to view the updates schedule.”
Sneaky and exciting.
We have been told that we can expect updates to iOS and OSX. We can most likely expect at least a mention of Beats By Dre and the deal they have made with Apple, and probably a cameo by the good Dr Dre himself. We can expect Jony Ive in his loveliness explaining awesome things (via video), and Tim Cook excitedly talking about inspiration and the future of technology and Apple’s role in making your world a better place.
We suspect that it is likely that we may see new ways to make mobile payments, as well as an introduction to the much rumored ‘Healthbook’, built into the updated iOS with health measuring and reporting capabilities.
The announcement of the iPhone 6 ( more than one? Bigger screen? No more bezels? Made of unicorn’s tears?) and the iWatch ( will it ever come!?) are also possibilities that a lot of people are eagerly anticipating- both of which, particularly the iWatch, would need a fair amount of time for the developers to create apps for them before their release. A lot of people are, however, skeptical that either, especially the iWatch will be mentioned at WWDC.
The Financial Times has recently reported that Apple could be introducing a way for you to certain functions in your home with Apple Devices, perhaps in combination with Apple TV. Functions that could be controlled from your iPhone or iPad could include lighting, security, temperature control and connected appliances like television and sound. These would all be controlled centrally, incorporated into the iOS, instead of through 3rd party apps.
And then we have this, beautifully phrased from the Apple Sauce direct:
Ooooooh. Well we’re excited. Stay tuned folks, we’ll be bringing you all the news and mysteries unraveled direct from the great city of San Francisco as it happens!
The WWDC 2014 banners are going up! WWDC IS COMING! And the good news? Apple is offering a live video stream of next Monday’s keynote address! The keynote begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.
Those wanting to watch the live stream will need Safari on Mac/iOS, QuickTime 7 on Windowsor have access to Apple Tv, where it will also be available.
Not to worry if you can’t watch it live ( cos of like, work and other normal Monday morning things) – we’ll be watching and will keep you updated on all the news coming straight from San Francisco’s Moscone Center!
Apple has just launched two new TV ads for the iPad. Brimmed full of emotion, beautiful images and music (as per usual), the ads feature Esa-Pekka Salonen, a Finnish conductor who composes music with the iPad Air, and travel blogger Chérie King, who uses the iPad when she travels the world.
Apple just launched updated MacBook Airs! The good news? The main gist is that they’re faster and cheaper. Sweet deal, right?
All new standard MacBook Airs will feature faster 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processors and will come at a price $100 less than previously. The battery is also said to last up to 1 hour longer on the 11 -inch and 2 hours on the 13-inch.
Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice president of WorldWide marketing has said this about the updated Airs:
“With MacBook Air starting at $899, there’s no reason to settle for anything less than a Mac. Macs have never been more popular, and today we’ve boosted the performance and lowered the price of MacBook Air so even more people can experience the perfect everyday notebook.”
Here are the new specs:
You can get your hot little hands on an updated MacBook Air RIGHT NOW through Apple’s retail or online stores.
A hot tip courtesy of the good guys over at Macrumors.com – Refurbished MacBook Air computers have dropped to incredibly low prices, with an 11-inch 2012 model available starting at $599 and 2013 models available starting at $719.
And from the guys at Slickdeals – People are picking up some great deals. Like this one: “Just picked up the mid-2013 macbook for $705 Open box. It’s $750 New w/ student discount ( if you have a .edu email address). ”
Has the sleep/wake button on your iPhone 5 stopped working? Thought it was a lost cause? There might be some hope yet!
Apple has released a statement to The Loop regarding a recall of some iPhone 5 models because of broken sleep/wake buttons, which means if you are one of the device owners affected- you could get it replaced for free.
Here’s the lowdown-
You’ll need to enter your iPhone’s serial number here to see if your device is one of those affected by the recall.
If your phone is affected and you want to get it fixed for free ( duh) you can bring it to any Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service provider. Your device will have to be sent away to an Apple repair centre to be fixed, however it is believed that for the interim some Apple stores are lending customers iPhone 5 16Gb models. You can also mail your device directly to the repair centre if you’d like.
According to Apple your device will take 4-6 days from the time it is received until it is returned to you, and all customers should back up all their data and erase all content and setting before sending it in to get fixed. All devices that receive a new sleep/wake button will be updated to iOS 7.
If you’ve got an iPhone 5 that is affected by this recall and you’ve already paid for an out-of-warranty replacement, you should contact an Apple customer service rep to ask for a refund.
This recall and placement program will be effective for 2 years after the initial retail purchase of your device.
According to some reports there are stores that are offering customers affected by the recall a $350 upgrade credit for a new device, but you must specifically ask for it, your phone must be in perfect condition other than the sleep/wake button, and it’s of course not guaranteed.
By the way, why doesn’t Apple have a cooler name for that button? Writing sleep/wake button over and over has cemented the fact that it’s a pretty stupid name. It should be called, like, the enforcer button or something. Just saying, Apple.
Good luck Guys! Let us know how you go if this recall applies to you!
For one day only, on April 15th, Google will be selling their most anticipated wearable tech product to any adult over 18 living in the United States ( sorry everyone else in the world).
Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference dates have been announced!
This year the conference will run from June 2nd through to June 4th, and developers have had the opportunity to apply for random ticket selection up until today- a different approach to other years.
Here is the run down from Apple themselves:
So, what can we expect?
You should definitely expect to hear Tim Cook making announcements regarding the iPhone 6 and iOS 8 and outlining their release dates and specs. Apple TV will most likely be getting an upgrade, however an actual Apple TV will most likely not be making an appearance.
There is a chance an iWatch will be announced, although analysts and basically everyone in the tech world go back and forth on this one. We think there is a 72.5% chance, but we’re not betting the farm.
We’ll also get pretty video’s played at 9:42 am, inspirational speeches, and special appearances by Craig Federighi and Jony Ive!
You guys know when you’re super excited/angry/drunk/revengy and you decide to send a message to someone? And then you get a moment of clarity and realize that telling your boss that you hate the way he wears his stupid pretentious ties is not the best career move? Or telling your friend that she’s a really mean jerk might not be the best thing to do?
Precisely perfect for these moments is the undo typing function, because pressing delete over and over might take too long and the drunky revengy you might come back!
So, shake your phone, man, just shake your phone! An “Undo Typing” box will come up – hit it like it’s a 1990’s dancefloor!
If you do change your mind after you’ve hit Undo, shake your phone again for a handy “Redo Typing” box.
So now you can save telling people how you really think when you’re angry/drunk/revengy for REAL life! Hooray!
The iWatch! Could it finally be on it’s way onto our super deserving wrists? Well, we think so. We’re almost as sure as we can really ever really be with an Apple product release, especially a completely new product release. Here’s a bunch of stuff we think we know about the iWatch.
Way, way back in 2008, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak confirmed to the Telegraph that “Apple’s future could lie in an ‘iWatch’.”
Then, in the midst of a thousand iWatch rumors, Apple trademarked ‘iWatch’ in Japan, Mexico, Russia and a number of other countries.
Tim Cook has said this about wearable tech:
“I think the wrist is interesting. I’m wearing this (Nike Fuelband) on my wrist…it’s somewhat natural. But as I said before, I think for something to work here, you first have to convince people it’s so incredible that they want to wear it.”
So we know it’s coming, and we know it’s going to be incredible, which is pretty exciting.
The iWatch is rumored to be out this year. Definitely, probably, this year. We think it will be if not announced, at least hinted at during the WWDC in June, and if not, definitely revealed in the Fall, and released later in the year or early 2015.
The idea is that the iWatch will feature a small number of already established products combined into one, similar to the original iPhone when it came out.
It is said to be standalone with the option to be used in combination with your iPhone. It will most likely include watch, (duh) as well as fitness, health and phone functionality. Siri is a possibility, as is FaceTime capabilities, and maps, if not full iOS 8 functionality.
Fitness and health tech accessories were one of the big new industry product sectors at this year’s CES conference in Vegas. Many believe that it’s where the future of wearable tech lies.
Apple have recently made a bucketload of new roles rumored to be centered on the creation of the iWatch. Some of these are a little vague, others are quite telling. These include:
Sleep analysis experts who hold “several patents for integrating mobile devices with fitness equipment”
Biometric scientists.
Ben Shaffer (previously innovation leader at Nike) and Jay Blahnik, a health and fitness instructor who consulted on the Fuelband for Nike.
Sleep research expert Roy J.E.M Raymann, a scientist from Philips Research last month. Raymann’s experience includes extensive research into non-pharmacological methods of altering sleep quality and in wearable sensors and miniaturization of sensors related to tracking sleep and alertness activity.
Nancy Dougherty was hired as a hardware engineer in late 2013. Previously she worked with technology-based medical products with Proteus Digital Health. Her work there included a health metric-reading wearable patch and ingestible, Bluetooth-connected smart pills for monitoring dosages and scheduling. Most recently, Dougherty worked as a hardware lead for Sano Intelligence, whose tagline reads ‘the API for the bloodstream,’ working on a wearable sensor system.
Apple recently advertised for an Exercise Physiologist to oversee cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure tests at its main headquarters campus.
The ad read: Design and run user studies related to cardiovascular fitness & energy expenditure, including calories burned, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level measurement/tracking and other key physiological measurements.
Michael O’Reilly, M.D. was recently added to the Apple team. Previously he was the Chief Medical Officer of pulse oximetry (measuring the amount of oxygen in the blood) for Masimo.
In the fashion line, Former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, below, was hired last year to work under Tim Cook on a “special project”, and Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, joined Apple in a newly created position last year, as a senior vice president and member of their executive team.
Pretty promising stuff, right? So what else do we know?
A supply chain source indicated to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White in early October that it may also serve to integrate with home automation systems, allowing users to control heating and cooling, lights, and audio/video systems right from their wrists.
The design will come from the delightful brain of one Jony Ive (and his no doubt delightful team).
It is expected to have a 1.5-inch display, it will more than likely have a battery life longer than one day (Hi Galaxy gear!) and no one is brave enough yet to guess at a price.
What about competition? There are already a few smart watches, coming from the likes of Samsung with the Galaxy Gear (1& 2), the Pebble, the Sony smart watch 2 and now Google who has confirmed to the Financial Times after filing a patent that they are indeed manufacturing a smart watch, possibly for release this year.
Apple will be looking to blow them all out of the water, obviously. This means that it has to be innovative in the same way that shocked the world with the original iPhone, and that all the components such as battery life, synchronization with other tech, wearability and functionality will have to be perfect.
So, no pressure, Apple. Also: hurry up, cos we really, really want one.
Apple, Cool Features, iPhone, New Releases, Upgrades | iPhone-Antidote | 
May 30, 2014 10:43 am | 
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