Gadget Gestures

Lets Gesture about Gadgets

Monday, September 20, 2021
Log in

iPad Pro will reportedly feature 2K display and eye tracking technology

By Leave a Comment

ipad-pro The rumors on the iPad Pro continue to grow and we have another report on some of the specs and features coming on the high-end tablet from Apple. Cupertino looks to mimic the strategy they have been using with MacBook for iPad, splitting the product into iPad Air and iPad Pro.

The iPad Air will be the thin and light experience, while the iPad Pro will pack a punch with more powerful internals and features for the more professional user, including the possibility of eye tracking technology.

Eye tracking technology has been explored by Samsung on their Galaxy S and Note devices, but not to much success. Apple may have something different in store for the eye tracking, possibly understanding movements on the iPad apps and tailoring the experience for the user.

In terms of raw specs, the iPad Pro will come with a 2K display, this is a step up from the retina display currently on the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display, but isn’t that big of a jump compared to previous 4K rumors we have heard.

The screen size will also be boosted to a 12.2-inch display, making this the biggest iPad available. Apple will be able to sell the iPad in three different versions, Mini, Air and Pro for three different types of users, although we need to see software improvements on the iPad Pro to really make a difference.

Release date is still a little foreign, we cannot pin-point if Apple wants to get this out at their WWDC conference or at a later date, possibly at their iPhone/iPad conference that normally happens in September or October.

The price for the iPad Pro will certainly be higher than the iPad Air, with the more advanced feature set comes a higher price. We expect somewhere in the region of $600 – 800 for the base model, with improvements taking the iPad Pro up to over $1000.

iPad Mini with Retina Display review: more of the best

By Leave a Comment

Apple is arguably not the best smartphone manufacturer anymore, Samsung’s Galaxy S sales are almost exceeding that of the iPhone and the HTC One and Moto X are both being crowned as better smartphones in 2013 than the iPhone 5S.

One market may be stronger in competition, but when it comes to tablets it still feels like Apple has a significant edge over their biggest rivals. Amazon may have done some good in the low-end market, but reports say the original iPad Mini made big holes in the Kindle Fire sales.

The iPad Mini with Retina Display shows Apple has made a decision against the previous formula and decided not to marginalise the performance on the mini version of the iPad this year, stacking in the best performance into the iPad Mini with Retina Display for a more expensive price-tag.

iPad Mini with Retina Display

ipad-mini-with-retina-display-2

The iPad Mini with Retina Display is Apple’s idea of the best tablet experience on an 8-inch display. The iPad Air is Apple’s crowning jewel, but the iPad Mini is probably the one that will be grabbing most the sales and almost all the attention, with the slightly cheaper price tag.

On the specs side this years iPad Mini is exactly the same as the iPad Air, with the only change being on the screen size. This makes it almost a preference choice whether you enjoy the 8-inch form factor or the 10-inch, we believe most prefer the former.

We picked up the 16GB iPad Mini with Retina Display in silver and picked the blue Smart Cover alongside and have stocked it full of games and applications.

Design

Following up from the original, the second generation iPad Mini looks exactly the same as last year. Apple has decided not to change anything, from the back aluminium to the front glass cover, everything is the same in terms of design.

That doesn’t make a difference to us, Apple still has the winning formula when it comes to designing tablets. There is no wacky edges like on the Kindle Fire HDX and the premium aluminium beats the rubber plastic on the Nexus 7 (2013) in our opinion.

Personal preference will come into play when it comes to design, but from a usability perspective the iPad Mini with Retina Display is just big enough to not be considered one of those huge Android phablet phones and offers a nice build to hold for more than five minutes.

ipad-mini-with-retina-display-1

Display

Moving onto the display, the previous generation was packed with the same display as the iPad 2. It wasn’t that great and against the 1080p competition it did not look like a high-end tablet, it looked more like a half-baked solution, where other Android tablets were pushing the limits.

Apple decided this year they would not make the half-baked solution, but add a full-throttle retina display onto the iPad Mini. This gives it a resolution of 2056 x 1536, better than the 1920 x 1200 on the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 in terms of raw pixels on the screen.

In day to day use the display on the iPad Mini is incredible – in every case the display just makes everything come alive. Text on the iPad Mini looks crisp and there is no blur or pixelation, when it comes to gaming and video every color is vivid and there is no bad color saturation.

Performance

Apple has not just slapped a retina display on the iPad Mini and said “see you next year” they have also packed in the latest A7 chipset. This is only currently available on the iPhone 5S and iPad Air, showing the high-end bridge the iPad Mini has crossed this year.

The A7 chipset offers a lot more performance than the previous iPad Mini, games run smooth and the tablet can run multiple applications without freezing up. There is still minor lag on some applications, but we cannot figure out if this is because lack of juice or something on the developer end.

Battery Life

The iPad Mini with Retina Display has had a big bump in performance and we didn’t have any expectations when it came to battery life. Surprisingly it isn’t that bad, the tablet can run solidly for around 6 to 10 hours, depending on usage.

This is on par with most tablets out there and while it is not great, it holds up and never seems to be too problematic, even when having dozens of applications open and watching a full HD movie.

Software

iOS7 is the latest mobile OS update from Apple and completely redesigns the OS, from the skeuomorphism we previously found on iOS devices, Apple has redesigned iOS to make it flat, removing weight on buttons and making everything one layer upon another.

The update has been criticised in certain places and the iPad version, for a time, was buggy and did not work. Gladly, Apple has fixed the problems on the iPad Mini with iOS7 and it is a joyful experience, especially with some of the redesigned applications.

Apps

ipad-mini-with-retina-display-3Talking about applications, this is where the iPad is really still ahead. Apple made it their issue to push developers to make applications just for iPad in 2011 and have made a great field of apps built for the larger screen, where Android still holds thousands of blown up apps that look awful.

In our first day of use, we found enough apps, including video games and productivity applications, to last us a good few months. Things like Flipboard, Paper 53, iAlien, The Walking Dead, Sorcery, Deus Ex alongside all of Apple’s free iWork apps for iPad.

The experience when finding apps on an iPad is so much easier than on an Android tablet, we feel. The prominence of great, iPad built apps makes it easy for us to enjoy content and find games and applications that really make us want to use our iPad Mini with Retina Display for hours on end.

Still the best?

We would still say the iPad Mini with Retina Display is the best small tablet on the market today, beating the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and Google Nexus 7. It is obviously personal preference which you like better, but if the reason for picking up a Google device is for using their services, they are all on the iPad Mini and work remarkably well.

Apple’s iPad Air enjoys popular first week of sales

By Leave a Comment

ipad-air-usage

Apple is not known for its shoddy product sales launches, but with the iPhone 5C having a bit of trouble getting consumer interest, it is surprising to see the slightly overshadowed iPad Air getting huge popularity in the opening weekend of sales.

The news comes from Fiksu who compile a lot of usage statistics on electronic devices compared to competitors and predecessors. The graph we are looking at shows iPad usage relative to previous iPad launches and the iPad Air has surpassed the iPad Mini and iPad 4 at launch.

On the third day we are already seeing 0.70% usage of the new iPad Air, this may seem minimal, but for a brand with over 100 million users, it shows hundreds of thousands of users on the first weekend, more than the original iPad Mini.

This is pretty fantastic for Apple considering the iPad Mini has been crunching into their iPad sales, meaning the company hits lower profit margins on every sale. With this new iPad Mini 2 price and the iPad Air redesign, perhaps we will see a more even usage report.

We are not sure what the current usage is of all iPads, we would hazard the original iPad and iPad 2 take up a lion share and the iPad Mini is growing everyday, with the quickly disregarded iPad 3 sitting below all the rest in last place.

The iPad Air is all about weight and the build, Apple has redesigned the larger tablet to look like the iPad Mini and fitted it with all the core iPhone 5S components, apart from TouchID. Apple has also added all of these features into their new iPad Mini 2 and increased the price to $399.

We still have no official announcements on the iPad Air, Apple likes to keep all their announcements in earning calls or product launches, both have been exhausted for this season. Apple will most likely announce some record breaking sale in a few weeks on both the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2.

iPad Air orders open on the Apple online store and other US retailers

By Leave a Comment

ipad-airApple will once again offer the larger iPad Air out before its smaller brother, the iPad Mini with retina display. The iPad Air is available to pre-order on Apple’s online store and other retailers in the US, Canada and Europe.

The iPad Air starts at $499 for 16GB of internal storage and comes with two color options, Space Grey or Silver. It looks like Space Grey will forever be the old matte black and we are not sure how users will feel about this change in color options.

Highest price for the iPad Air sits at $929 for the 128GB LTE version, something we can only see a very niche part of Apple customers wanting. It is nice Apple has added the 128GB option once again and they have various LTE vendors worldwide for the iPad Air.

In the US, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile USA will offer the iPad Air on their stores and it can be bought on the Apple store with the contract. We are not sure about global carriers, we expect the three main Canadian carriers to have the iPad Air available.

The iPad Air has a full redesign to match the smaller iPad Mini and internally it has been decked out with the latest A7 processor, 2GB of RAM and a larger battery to keep the tablet running all day. Early reviews claim the iPad Air is incredibly light, so much so that users will not believe it at first.

Unlike the iPhone 5S launch, Apple is sure there will be no supply slip-ups. On the first few weeks of the iPhone 5S launch, Space Grey was the only color available after gold and silver got picked up by the majority of early buyers.

The same cannot be said for the iPad Mini with retina display, set to launch sometime in late November. The smaller retina display will apparently make the supply line pretty short for the first few months.

Apple’s second generation iPad Mini will come with retina display

By Leave a Comment

ipad-miniThere has been a constant back and forth when it comes to the iPad Mini retina display, some leakers say yes, others say no. We now have a rather valid source claiming Apple will add the higher-resolution retina display to the second generation iPad Mini, the news comes from The Wall Street Journal.

Apple has hung onto the retina display feature for quite a while now, it has been added onto the iPhone for the past three years and has since been available on the iPad 3 and above, the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and the fifth generation iPod Touch.

The original iPad Mini comes with the iPad 2 1024×768 resolution, rather shoddy in comparison to the Nexus 7 (2013) and Kindle Fire HDX, both coming with high-resolution 1080p screens at a cheaper price.

With the retina display, Apple could bump the iPad Mini above and beyond what Google and Amazon are shipping, with the iPad 4 resolution at 2048×1536. There is downscaling done on smaller screens, but perhaps Apple could go the extra mile and add a huge resolution to the smaller iPad.

Apple will not just add a nicer display, the iPad Mini is set for a full upgrade in terms of internal specs, most looking exactly the same as the iPhone 5 specs. We believe Apple will add the A6 processor and a slightly larger battery, alongside a new thinner and lighter build.

Price should stay the same, there is no reason why Apple would drop the price any lower and they may even push it up $20/30. It is not unlike Apple to bump up prices on their products, they may drop $100 off the iPad Mini price.

We are just one day from finding out all about the new iPad Mini, it would be a shame if Apple decides the retina display can wait until next year, especially with all the new competition.

 

Apple TV to be renewed alongside new iPads at Apple’s event

By Leave a Comment

apple-tvIt has been over a year since the third generation Apple TV was released and many expect Cupertino is preparing to launch the next one in the coming month. Amazon Germany and France has just made it more obvious the fourth generation is coming, with the third generation “out of stock” until October 23.

Apple has an iPad event on October 22, meaning they will announce the fourth generation Apple TV at the event, alongside the new MacBook Pro with Haswell processor and some other new product revamps.

Amazon normally runs out of stock when a new product is arriving and we doubt the Apple TV suddenly got a huge influx of buyers in Europe, considering the set top-box is not that popular in Germany and France compared to the UK and US.

Not much is known about the new Apple TV, we may see Cupertino go full in on resolution, adding 4K support like Netflix will add in a few months. We may also see a cleanup of the user interface to fit with iOS7 and some new support for channels.

The Apple TV is still a hobby product for Apple, with the company not trying to sell it out to the average consumer and never running advertisements on the product, like they do with their biggest announcements.

This means Apple does not need to push innovation, even with Chromecast and other media streaming devices battling for market share. Unless Apple makes a big push for TV this year, possibly by adding a TV display to the set top box, then it would be game on. We have seen recent hires from Apple in the TV space, but nothing that really strikes as definite.

Apple patents TouchID for iPads and Macs

By Leave a Comment

iphone-touchidApple’s TouchID may be one of the first consumer fingerprint sensors that actually work without a whole lot of faults and Cupertino is looking to extend TouchID to feature on iPads and Macs in the future.

A new filing on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office points to Apple moving TouchID further than the iPhone 5S, the only device it currently works on. Before TouchID was revealed some believed it would come on every iPhone as a software update, but it is actually embedded into the home button.

We are quite positive Apple will bring TouchID to the new iPad 5 and the A7 processing chip will also be added. The second generation iPad Mini will not come with TouchID, instead Apple will add the iPhone 5 specs to the smaller tablet.

Apple may also add TouchID to new MacBooks, including the MacBook Pro coming to Apple’s event on October 22. We are not sure how Apple will incorporate this into the MacBook, perhaps on the power button or a designated key on the board.

The iMacs are another possible destination for TouchID, the all in one setup allows Apple to just place the fingerprint sensor anywhere on the back or front of the screen, possibly on the side for easy access without looking ugly.

Apple’s new design of the Mac Pro is promising, it means the user could touch a button on the illuminated back and the whole system would open up to that user. With all the additional security Mac Pro users have on their system, it could be an efficient way to access data.

TouchID is an impressive feature and while it may seem a little underdeveloped with no third party support, Apple could add this to their whole line and then start working with official third parties to open applications, like Facebook and Amazon purchases.

Source

Apple announces October 22 iPad event

By Leave a Comment

apple-eventApple has announced their second fall event on October 22, where they are set to announce the iPad and iPad Mini. The event will be held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California.

This event will be all about the iPads and a few other revamped products from Apple’s line. The company has been surprisingly quiet on the iPads ever since WWDC, after developers and users found bugs on the iPads running iOS7.

We are expecting to see the fifth generation iPad and the second generation iPad Mini. The iPad 5 will have a new design similar to the iPad Mini and come with the new A7 processor. Apple will also fit TouchID into the iPad 5, making it the second device to come with the fingerprint technology.

As for the iPad Mini, we may see the retina display added onto the smaller tablet, alongside the A6 processor. We doubt they will add TouchID or any of the iPhone 5S features, simply to dumb down the iPad Mini experience, keeping buyers on the more expensive iPad.

Other than the two iPads, Apple is expected to announce a refreshed MacBook Pro with retina display and Haswell processor. This may be the first twenty four hour MacBook, if Apple is able to add a huge battery to the more powerful MacBook.

Apple may also announce or preview release dates for the Mac Pro. Phil Schiller revealed the new design at WWDC a few months ago, but news on a release date has been silent since, pointing at a possible release next year.

We doubt Apple will mention the iWatch, considering CEO Tim Cook has already said new products will be coming next year. The company may hint or tease at the new iWatch, but we cannot see them rolling through the specs.

Apple preparing iPad event for October 22

By Leave a Comment

apple-ipadApple may be preparing its second fall event on October 22, where the company will launch the remaining products for the year, including the iPads, iPods, MacBooks, Mac Pro and any other products that need revamped from last year.

The event will be a little longer and larger than the iPhone event according to multiple sources, who say the Infinite Loop event was a little small by Apple and the company is looking at having a grander stage and more time to detail products.

Apple is likely going to announce the new line of iPads, including the iPad 5 with the new 64bit A7 processor, iPad Mini design aesthetic and sport some new colors to match the new iPhone 5S. The second generation iPad Mini will hopefully come with retina display, although reports are mixed on this subject – Apple will add the iPhone 5’s A6 processor, we believe.

Other features at the event could be a new iPod Nano, Touch and Shuffle. Apple likes to change things up with the Nano and this year we may see more a smartwatch feel, unless Apple takes a different route to keep away from the iWatch.

Apple should also be announcing the new MacBook Pro with retina display and Haswell processor. This will not be the most exciting news on the PC homefront, with Apple expected to announce a release date for the Mac Pro and Mavericks OS.

On top of all this, we may get our first look at the iWatch, a short teaser, like Phil Schiller showed at WWDC for the Mac Pro. This would really get investors excited about the future for Apple, even if every human says the product stinks before launch.

There is nothing worse than another company ruining your big event and Apple has stumbled on Nokia’s World 2013 date, making it a hard choice for fans on both fields.

iPad 5 set to close the gap between tablet and PC with 64bit architecture

By Leave a Comment

ipad-5One analyst is set on the idea Apple will open the iPad 5 to even more consumption, adding more enterprise security and applications and allowing more usability and power with the 64bit architecture, for developers to create powerful PC-grade applications.

This could open up a new playing field for the iPad, already one of the most dominant products in the electronic industry. Apple has already sold hundreds of millions of iPads worldwide and the current movement to enterprise tablets seems to be all about iPad.

The iPad 5 has hardly any major aesthetic changes, if the latest rumors are correct. The iPad 5 will be thinner and lighter and add the same design as the iPad Mini, but Apple will not include a kickstand or keyboard to go against the rising Windows 8 hybrid tablets.

Apple’s move into the enterprise industry would not be their first, the Mac Pro is a major enterprise product for servers and Apple has always had grasping roots in the professional/business arena, but this would be the big mobile push.

When the iPad was originally announced in 2011 by Steve Jobs, it was hit with a lot of negative feedback, with people belittling the tablet as something of a larger smartphone, pointless to the normal user and not capable of being a powerful enterprise product.

Almost three years later, the iPad has flourished and the iPad 5 looks to continue this push into the mainstream consumer market, alongside the also lucrative enterprise market. We wonder what Apple will do to make an appeal to enterprise level users, could they add extra encryption and security or possibly, in a mad world, Mavericks OS on an iPad.