OS X Mavericks

The big cats have gone, now we welcome a whole new era of OS X. Mavericks. Surf's up! (For those who don't know - Mavericks is a popular surfing destination in California, home to Apple.) OS X has been around for a while and it's good reputation is very high, so to keep the interest alive Apple needed to have something evolutionary up their sleeve. As always, they did - although the UI hasn't changed that much.

The Mac software is now super power efficient and mega fast. This is achieved using Timer Coalescing, which groups CPU operations together, allowing more idle time and faster performance. Mavericks reduces activity by 72%, saving much needed battery life. An interesting feature has been added to OS X Mavericks, App Nap. It slows down the app which you're not currently using and which isn't in view (for example, if you paused your music and started using another app), and again, it saves battery life. When you start using the app again, it works as normal and at full speed. App Nap works the same way with tabs in Safari. When you are currently viewing one tab, the others slow down to conserve energy. The best thing is that you don't even notice it.

Now, everyone hates it when various adverts are running on a web page, especially if you're not interested. Safari has a solution. The ads don't start playing by themselves, instead, you can choose if you want them to play or not by clicking a bar at the top of an ad. Simple and easy. The new version of OS X has compressed memory, allowing you to have lots of apps open without being deprived of speed at which they run in...

Read more about this on my Apple blog.

iOS 7 - The Mobile OS from a Whole New Perspective

A completely redesigned UI, a pure representation of simplicity, all-new apps and more. Ladies and gentlemen, iOS 7 is here, prepare to be amazed. Rumours said it's going to be different, rumours said it's going to be flat, rumours said it will change the whole course of iOS forever. Well, here it is:

The User Interface has got a completely new look. It's fresh. It's clean. It has a whole new sense of depth, brought to us by distinct layers, which establish order along the software. iOS 7 cleverly takes advantage of translucency, this makes even the simplest of tasks more engaging. A whole new set of motions and animations has been introduced - scrolling, unlocking, swiping and simple movements of your device make it all a little bit more interesting. Tilting your iDevice left or right, when in the home screen view, reveals new parts of your background image by moving the icons in a 3D sort of way. Each and every icon on the home screen has been radically redesigned around a new grid system. A whole new pallette of beautiful colours has been added. None of this may matter to you, but it makes a massive difference.

To read more visit my Apple blog.

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Apple Introduces 128GB iPad

Many people have been craving a storage update for the iPad. To their delight, Apple have just introduced a new version of the iPad 4th generation with a Retina display. The new iPad will have 128GB of internal storage available, as well as the usual 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. The wi-fi model will cost $799 and the wi-fi & LTE model will cost a massive $929 which is very close to the price of the MacBook Air. These are the prices in the US - Apple haven't yet put the new iPad model on their website, so I am not able to confirm the prices in the UK. But, what I do know is that it WILL be expensive.

Sadly, the iPad Mini isn't getting this storage update just yet. However, Apple are expected to announce a new iPad Mini with a Retina display and bigger storage later on in the year together with a redesigned iPad, but these are only rumours at the moment. From what the firm have said, this new model of the iPad with a larger storage capacity will be exactly the same as the others. This model will go on sale on the 5th of February, but will it attract big crowds? 

iOS 6.1 Released

When iOS 6 was first released it didn't get the expected 'thumbs up' from the public. Many improvements needed to be made, including an update to the maps application. However, iOS 6.1 is now available to download. After four beta versions, the final update has been released by Apple, to the relief of customers. But is it all that we wanted?

The update is available for the iPhone 3GS and later versions of the iPhone, iPad 2 and later versions of the iPad, iPod touch 4th generation and later versions of the iPod Touch. It takes about 5 minutes to install on the iPad mini and may take longer on older devices. Here are the improvements and bug fixes that Apple have made to the software:

• LTE support for more carriers (there is a complete list of supported carriers at www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/)
• You can now purchase movie tickets through Fandango with Siri (USA only)
• iTunes Match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud
• There is a new button to reset the Advertising Identifier

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Although most iDevice users were hoping for a Maps update, there is no sign of one at the moment. It looks like we will maybe have to wait until iOS 7 for that to come. There aren't any 'visible' updates to the new software but there are a lot of bug fixes which improve the whole user experience. What will Apple do next?

iPhone 6 Rumours

Recent rumours suggest that Apple have been testing hardware which relates to a new 'iPhone 6,1' identifier, powered by a device running iOS 7. So we might see a new iPhone and software version coming out later this year. However people are still waiting for an update to the not quite successful Maps application. Apple received piles of complaints after its release stating that the maps are inaccurate, black and white in some places and that the 3D mode suddenly decided that roads shouldn't be straight. You can see an example of that at the Hoover Dam on the maps; a bridge is nowhere near the shape that it should be. The same can be said for the surrounding roads. The Eiffel Tower doesn't look too good either. It appears to be squashed to the ground in 3D mode and people agree that mistakes like these shouldn't even be happening with a company like Apple. A Map update is expected to be released shortly, in the meanwhile Google Maps is available to download from the App Store.

There haven't been many changes made to the current iPhone 5 as there aren't many differences between it and the iPhone 4s. However, the iPhone 5 has had a screen size update and it has been fitted with a very fast and powerful A6 chip, it comes with better cameras and a beautiful display. Some of the differences have been made by iOS 6, which is available for most iOS devices. The iPhone 5 has only just been released, but people are already thinking about the next generation. Here is a list of what people want to see in the new iPhone 6:
 - A quad core processor
 - A wider screen, people say that the current iPhone has a display that is too tall and it needs to be wider
 - Siri to be able to translate speech, to and from different languages
 - Expandable storage
 - Near Field Communication technology (NFC)
 - A lower price, not a higher one
 - Wireless charging

These are some of the more sensible and possible ideas. One of the not so possible ones is a projector fitted into the iPhone, I think we will have to wait a few more years for that one. A source has revealed that it is possible for the next generation of the iPhone to have a curved glass screen. Apple have apparently bought over 200 glass cutting machines, which are said to be specialised in cutting curved glass. Furthermore, it is said that Apple have been granted a patent which indicates that the iPhone 6 might be made of a single piece of metal, making the phone lighter and thinner. Recently, Sharp has developed a new generation of displays, called p-Si LCD. It stands for PolySilicon Liquid Crystal Display, which is said to have numerous advancements and new features that will make the display brighter and sharper than it already is. The Retina display has beautiful colours and an astonishingly good resolution, I can't imagine how good Sharp's new display is going to be.

iOS 6 still needs a lot of improvements, mostly with Maps. To many people it seems that the release was rushed and it wasn't 'polished down' enough. It is suggested that Apple may release iOS 7 later on this year with the iPhone 6, but only if the rumours are true. A majority of users are wanting live widgets on the home screen to be introduced to the software, as they will make it more interesting and fun to navigate through the device. However, others are saying that the current look is very original and if it is changed it will ruin the simplicity and ease of use.

Apple better have something big and exciting up their sleeve, otherwise the public will lose interest in the company and their devices. It looks like without Steve Jobs Apple isn't the same anymore. The firm are making the wrong decisions too quickly and definitely need to slow down and think about what their next step is going to be. Luckily for them, this hasn't had a big impact on the company or their sales. The technology world is growing and developing faster than ever. What seemed to be the impossible a few years ago has been made into reality today. Who knows what gadgets we will end up with in a hundred years. People all over the world are already buzzing about the hopeful release of the iPhone 6, what will Apple come up with?

iOS 6.0.1 Update

Yesterday, Apple released a new update for iOS 6. They haven't done anything noticeable with the software; but improvements and bug fixes have been made. The update is only available for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS,  iPad 3, iPad 2 and the iPod Touch 4th generation. However, the iPhone 5 is not able to download software updates right now; iOS 6.0.1 will allow it to update. iPhone 5 users need to download an app from the app store to update to this new version. This problem might occur in the iPod Touch 5th generation too. Here is the full list of barely noticeable improvements:

 • Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air
• Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
• Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
• Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2                
    Wi-Fi networks
• Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
• Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
• Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock
    screen
• Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings

As well as this, the App Store doesn't crash when trying to update, search apps or look in the Genius section; but it still does when you want to look at the apps you have already purchased. It seems that Apple are still working on the Maps app, which has been designed with appalling accuracy and detailing. There will hopefully be another update early next year, maybe in February or March.