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The Apple Gold Watch Will Cost $5000

Last week Apple announced their new smartwatches called Apple Watch but they haven’t revealed all features yet. They are probably busy with the release of their new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. There is some news about the prices of the Apple Watch and we know for sure that the Apple Watch Sport will cost $349 in the US. Compared to other smartwatches, like the Moto 360 which is $250, the Apple Watch is pretty expensive. However, the sport version of the smartwatch is actually low compared to other versions like the stainless steel version on the Apple Gold watch, which not many will afford to buy.

Supposedly, Apple will position the more expensive watches as luxury items, not just tech devices. The stainless steel Apple watch will cost approximately $1000 and the Apple Gold watch will be around $5000. Yup, that’s a pretty big price for a watch, even for an Apple watch. The Apple Gold Watch will be 18 karat gold, rumors have it, and it will not be just gold plated, but a made of solid gold altogether.

The Apple Gold Watch Will Cost $5000

Apparently, Apple is planning to make the Apple watch sport version affordable to most people, while the premium versions will be left for those with big pockets. The Apple Watch has received mixed reviews, some saying that the lack of sensors on board is pretty disappointing and that the watch doesn’t bring anything new to the already full smartwatch market. The new Apple watch has the usual movement tracking features and the heart rate monitor, but besides that, nothing spectacular.

We are still waiting for more details regarding the new Apple watches and we will keep you updated. Until then, if you want to own the Apple Gold watch, start saving some money. A lot of money.

iPhone 6 Revealed, First Impressions

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The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. This Tuesday was the big day for Apple’s new announcements regarding their new goodies. They unveiled iPhone 6 and a new smartwatch but in this article we want to talk a little about our first impressions on the iPhone 6.

One of the first things we’ve noticed about Apple’s latest star (although there have been plenty of rumors and speculations) is the size of this beauty. iPhone 6 measures 4.7 inches diagonally and its twin brother, iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5 inches long. Don’t worry, it’s nothing to worry about because if you prefer the old size, iPhone 5 S is still available. We loved the extra screen space that the iPhone 6 has because we can do a lot more things with it, especially on those long commutes: read more emails, you can view bigger pictures and also type more efficiently. Moreover, the new screen is brighter and at a higher resolution than the existing iPhone models. The iPhone 6 Plus looks like a big leap forward and people will likely appreciate this larger iPhone.

iPhone 6 Revealed, bigger than iPhone 5.

It looks like the thumbs will have a lot to do on the new iPhones. On the iPhone 5 and the 5 S a hand was enough in order to operate it. A thumb was enough to navigate the whole screen. It looks like with the new iPhone 6 you can only reach half of the screen with your thumb. With the iPhone 6 Plus you can only reach a third of the screen. The 6 Plus is a little smaller than the iPad Mini, which makes it harder to grip tightly. If you are a skinny jeans lover, it might not fit into your pockets, due to its size.

As soon as we have more info about the iPhone 6 we will get back at you. What do you think about the new iPhone 6? Have you had the chance to see one in person?

Apple HealthKit Framework Gathers Support

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Apple Health app will be a part of the new iOS 8 to be released this fall. On September 9, the new iPhone 6 will not be the only novelty. Firstly, there are two iPhone 6 versions rumored to be released at the same time, a first for the rigid Cupertino-based company. Secondly, this is the year of the smartwatches. As smartphones seem to increasingly offer incremental upgrades, compared to the smartphone world of one or two years ago, accessories begin to be viewed as an important element of the mobile experience. Thirdly, the new iOS 8 will be launched, as the next-gen iOS will definitely accompany the latest iPhone.

IOS 8 will feature an interesting app called Health. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, but he still contributes to the company. Health app is said to have been Jobs’ latest idea, which makes sense, as he reportedly used his individual experience often to spur innovation. Health will be available on every iPhone that will support the latest iOS 8.

Basically Apple’s Health works as an aggregator of health related data. Apple wants to have third party developers create apps which will make the best use out of your health indicators. The health data will come from accessories like Apple’s own iWatch, or iTime, depending on who you ask. In order to provide developers with a working platform, Apple Healthkit framework was released.

Apple HealthKit framework needs third-party support to offer benefits

Apple needs to gather enough support for Health to take off, although this will probably not be a problem at all. Nike expressed its support for the HealthKit platform and include the app into its Fuelband app. Another important partner will be Mayo Clinic. Its doctors will be announced instantly when a patient’s blood pressure reaches dangerous levels, for example. Epic Systems, an important electronic health records company, will be another HealthKit partner, Trustedreviews reports.

Any other third-party who would like to develop apps can take advantage of various means of sampling the user’s health status. There are talks about a contact lens able to measure glucose levels, but that is Google’s idea. By taking into account blood pressure, glucose, pedometer info, for example, a third-party developer might come up with a personalized fitness regime by using Apple Healthkit framework. Hypochondriacs will love the new soon to be released Health app by Apple!

Microsoft Wristband Device Rumored

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The competition to provide a bestselling wearable device has a new contender. It does not come as a huge surprise that a Microsoft wristband device might be released at one point, as long as most of the largest companies in the field already unveiled smartwatches or plan to do so in the near future. Android Wear OS has been presented at this year’s Google I/O with great success, we would add. The first three smartwatches featuring Android Wear, especially the stylish Motorola Moto 360, impressed everyone.

Smartwatches are not new. All kinds of attempts have been made in the last ten years. Looking back, it seems quite strange that none of the devices really turned popular, with the slight exception of Pebble. Microsoft tried to enter the wearable scene eight years ago through ‘Smart Personal Objects Technology (Spot) Initiative’, which was shut down in 2012, with just two years of actual production.

Microsoft wristband device in the rest of the market

Because Apple set the scene for smartphones, as well as for tablets, the other companies are eager to ride the wave this time. The rumors of the upcoming Apple iWatch produce shivers among competitors. The iWatch is on everybody’s lips for the last two years and the last rumors hint at a final launch in September 2014, in the same time with iPhone 6.

Microsoft will allegedly focus on developing a wristband. It will be able to display the time, sure, but it will not have the similar full capabilities as the latest Android smartwatches. Another feature sported by the alleged Microsoft wristband device will be of displaying the smartphone’s notifications. But the company’s main goal will be to orient the wristband’s use to fitness activities. A heart monitor will prove to be a central spec. So nothing extraordinary so far. Nike and Samsung already produced gadgets with similar characteristics.

The surprise comes when you learn that Microsoft plans to make the wristband compatible with Android and iOS. The intention would have produced a greater shock if it would have been announced a couple of years ago. Microsoft has long been the leader of the software world and the rest was lagging behind. In the meantime, Microsoft’s strategy seems to be directed at accepting and cooperating with the rising competition. For example, recently they announced the release of Office for Android.

Microsoft wristband device will probably be sold for approximately $200, which is just a bit lower than the new Android smartwatches.

Apple’s iWatch may be delayed due to production issues

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Apple has one disadvantage when it comes to new products or features, getting them to scale. For a normal company, projecting one or two million sales is easy to do, but when your Apple it could be anywhere between 20 million and 50 million sales in a quarter.

The iWatch looks to be the next big innovation from Apple and the company is having problems on the production end, with 50 percent yield rates not offering a lot of promise for the company’s first smartwatch.

Apple is not the only ones having problems with yield rate, Qualcomm Toq is having the same troubles in the production, even though this smartwatch is already revealed and available to purchase.

Unlike the Qualcomm Toq, Apple wants to make sure the iWatch can match the scale and quality they are looking for and this is something Cupertino has been aggressively pushing in the past few years, making sure their engineering and manufacturing is the best in the industry.

Apart from the rumor about Jony Ive’s 100 man team working on the iWatch and Apple effort to try and port iOS onto the smartwatch without any battery life problems, the reports and leaks have been minimal regarding the next piece of tech from Cupertino.

Most are looking now for Apple to set the trend, considering the iPhone and iPad opened up the smartphone and tablet market, respectively. The Pebble smartwatch is currently the copy tool for most big companies, but Apple may have something different up their sleeve.

The iWatch delay could be terrible for Apple, since CEO Tim Cook already said 2014 will be a big year for innovation. The iWatch should be the highlight for the company in 2014 and the reason investors and the public start believing in Apple’s dominance once again.

If the smartwatch is delayed or fails to get big sales, it may mean a huge hit for Apple in terms of profit and user engagement.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has “big plans” for 2014

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Apple has always been a company famed for its product launches, the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad all were new products built off the back of old and boring ideas, with Cupertino reinventing the way the product works, refining and redesigning until it works just right.

The iPad was the last flashy product launch in 2011, the last year Steve Jobs would step on stage to deliver the new product to the masses. Since then it has been two years of iteration and a redesign of iOS7, the mobile operating system Apple ship every iPhone and iPad alongside.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook wants to break this yearly iteration, announcing big plans for 2014. In his goody bag could be anything from an Apple TV, to the iWatch, to simply bigger versions of both the iPad and iPhone with new performance enhancements.

Whatever the case, Apple wants to break the norm and show investors they are still a creative and exciting company, even without their leader Steve Jobs at the helm. The new Mac Pro and redesigned iOS show they have the flair and creativity for redesign and now we will see if they have the creativity for new markets.

Jobs was always known for pushing new teams to explore a certain market and product and would spend months if not years running through a single product, making sure everything from the hardware, to the software, to the services running alongside the device worked perfectly in tune with each other.

Tim Cook obviously is not this hands on leader and likes to delegate all jobs to specific employees and teams – even with his degree in engineering, Cook is a born businessman and loves to keep his eye on the cash flow, while also trying to make sure Apple keep to their high standards.

iPad 6 and 12-inch MacBook Air both expected to get resolution bump next year

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Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said on stage 2014 would be the year of action for the company and 2013 would not have any really exciting product announcements, save the ones we can already predict as they are yearly revamps. The iWatch, larger iPhone, Mac Pro and more is expected next year, exciting times.

Two changes to the current lineup next year may be the iPad 6 and the MacBook Air, both will have big upgrades on the resolution side, to compliment the growing threat of Android tablets and Windows 8 notebooks with higher resolution displays.

iPad 6

The first report on the iPad 6 comes from KGI Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes Apple will not change the size of the iPad or add a larger 12.7-inch display, but will increase the pixel density by 30-40 percent, giving the iPad 6 a resolution around the 400 PPI mark.

This is really impressive, considering the iPad 4 already has a solid resolution of 2048×1536. There are tablets out there beating this resolution, but it is only by a whisker and we still believe the Retina Display is one of the best on the market for clarity.

Apple will also add new internals to the iPad 6, as they always do to every new iPad. This year it will probably match the internals of the iPhone 5S and next year we may see more optimisation for the enterprise.

MacBook Air

Apple will also add a better display on the MacBook Air in 2014, with a 2304×1440 resolution panel to fit the 12-inch screen. The MacBook Air has sometimes been in the shadow of the MacBook Pro, but this may be the time to shine.

The company will also had new Haswell processors to the MacBook Air as expected. We believe Apple may announce the MacBook Air this month alongside the new MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro.

Apple’s 2014 Products

Other than the two already mentioned, Apple does have an exciting part in 2014 if rumors are correct. To start with, we are expecting to see a 4.8-inch iPhone 6, alongside a 4-inch model and the iPhone 6C.

We are also expecting to see the iPad Mini with colors if we do not see it this year. The Mac Pro, if not announced at the iPad event on October 22, should also be coming next year, along with a possible redesigned iMac.

Then there is the iWatch, the big product launch set to make or break Apple in terms of innovation under Tim Cook. Apple is apparently testing different flexible OLED screens under Jony Ive’s supervision.

Apple preparing iPad event for October 22

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Apple 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.

iPhone 6 will feature larger 4.8-inch display

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Apple is apparently going to cave into user demands and make a larger iPhone 6 screen, expanding the rather small screen to 4.8-inches to compete with some high-end Android smartphones, including the Moto X, Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

This has been reported on quite a bit since the iPhone 5S release and now Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek has said supply chain sources have told him about new screen sizes for the iPhone 6.

From the $450 value Misek previously had on Apple, he has upped it to $600 and told investors they should buy Apple stock now, while it is still low. He has two reasons for this, Apple is buying components at a cheaper price and the 4.8-inch iPhone 6.

This is a move expected by Apple, who have said 2014 will be the year of innovation for the company. Cupertino has not had a standout product launch since the iPad in 2011, leading some to believe Apple has lost their innovative spark since Steve Jobs death.

With the iPhone 6 expected to launch around the same time as the iPhone 5S and Apple adding the new 12.7-inch iPad, redesigned Mac Pro and revealing the iWatch to their large line of products, it could be a successful year for Cupertino.

The problem with iOS is the movement from one smartphone size to another seems to be terrible for developers, who have to cater to the size redesign. We still see some apps like Reddit without the redesigned four inch screen size, giving the black impressions.

This is the polar opposite of what can be achieved on Android, with developers creating apps for dozens of different sized smartphones with different resolutions without any problems.

We will have to wait and see if Apple adds some way for developers on xCode to add multiple sizes for different users, for all we know Apple could be testing out more than one size change and may want to keep both the 3.5-inch and 4-inch size model.

Galaxy Gear 2 already in development, set for CES 2014 unveiling

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We recently heard a pretty odd rumor about the Xperia Z2 and how it will be unveiled at CES 2014, even though the Xperia Z1 was only just released three weeks ago at IFA 2013. Now, we have heard Samsung will bring the Galaxy Gear 2 to CES 2014, despite it also being announced at IFA.

Some said the Galaxy Gear did look like a prototype version of what Samsung is creating with the smartwatch. Despite the finished exterior with the rubber band and metal watch-face, it feels like something a scrappy startup made and not a international company.

In saying this, the scrappy design is one of the best Samsung has pulled off, with their smartphones designed with plastic in mind and a pretty poor UI. The problem is Samsung really has little vision when it comes to smartwatches, at least right now and the Galaxy Gear 2 may be a more refined version.

When rumors first sprouted of a Galaxy Gear smartwatch, many claimed Samsung was trying to get the jump on Apple before they could launch the iWatch. This does not seem to have worked, despite some excitement surrounding the smartwatch, the vast majority of people see it as an overpriced gadget for the techies.

The iWatch is needed to change the market, as Apple have done with the smartphone and tablet. Not only is it is a big test to see how Apple can achieve vision under Tim Cook, but it is a show of how Apple’s vision can create a new market within the old one, changing and “revolutionising” it for a consumer friendly experience.

Apple has not always made great decisions and made great products, Siri and Apple Maps have had their shortcomings and these are just the latest, but the general idea is when Apple makes a new product for a market, it spreads like wildfire. The iPod, iPhone and iPad are proof of this and now the iWatch will be the fourth big push into a new consumer market.

Even if the Galaxy Gear 2 is launched at CES 2014, will we see something revolutionary or the same design and UI under a different skin. Samsung has the man power to make two watches and hundreds of phones in a few months, but do they have the vision to really create a game-changing device.