Over the past several months, rumors of Jony Ive's influence on iOS 7 as part of his new role overseeing user interface design in addition to hardware have surfaced, indicating that Ive is pushing to adopt a "flatter" design that will modernize the look of iOS.
In a lengthy report, Bloomberg now notes that this major effort to remake iOS puts Apple at risk of delaying the launch of iOS 7. While a public launch is said to currently remain on schedule for "as soon as September", Apple's internal deadlines have been pushed back as Apple's software teams race to complete their work and ready a preview for next month's Worldwide Developers Conference...
As you are probably aware, I started my coverage of the Samsung Galaxy S4 a few days back on my channel. Whilst I am still working on my Full Review, which will take the form of a video, now is a good opportunity to share my early impressions of some of the features.
Form & Size Before handling the device I thought it would be too big, but to my surprise, even though it sports a 4.99-inch screen it feels good in the hand. Samsung have done a superb job here, concentrating on a design that was not broken in the previous version and making the bezel around the screen super thin. One of my earlier dislikes of the Galaxy S3 was the very thin battery cover. I am happy to say that has been addressed to and the cover on the S4 is thicker and feels more robust. The materials used seem to have changed too. Yes, this is primarily plastic, but it feels more rigid. The silver band around the edges looks nicer and the overall quality seems to have improved. Maybe it is just the type of plastic used, but whatever Samsung have done, they upped their game. The large screen really does impress too, with its 1920x1080 resolution. This gives plenty of screen real estate for browsing the internet and emails. Where it really does shine is watching videos… the Galaxy S4 is certainly a smartphone that I could watch a full length video on.
S Health I love my Fitbit, which is a small device that I use to track my daily activity. It keeps a tab on my steps, sleep and food consumption (via an app). Samsung have developed their own app that uses the internal sensors of the Galaxy S4 to do more or less the same. It does not offer constant monitoring, instead you stop & start the app when you go for a walk or run. In addition you can also track food or calorie intake. The interface looks nice and from my early tests it seems pretty accurate, more or less mirroring what my Fitbit does.
Smart Pause & Air Gestures These two features may seem like a gimmick, but they are quite useful. Smart Pause is great for watching videos. The most basic way of describing it, is you watch a video, look away to talk to someone in the room and the video pauses. Look back at your Galaxy S4 screen and it instantly resumes. OK, I know you could tap the pause icon on the screen, but the feature actually works very well. Air Gestures is another great feature, but one that I will probably use a lot less. It allows you to wave your hand across the sensor on the device and have it move between photos (for example). If I am doing an action with my hand, in my opinion I may as well swipe my finger on the screen.
Accessories Whenever a new smartphone is released many third party manufacturers release cases and accessories in the following weeks. What amazes me with the Galaxy S4 is just how many were available prior to and on launch day. Cases, chargers & screen covers, all made to enhance your experience. My favourite so far is the Official S View cover (see video below), because not only does it protect the phone, but also changes the display when closed to show just the clock, date & notifications. In addition, when you open the front cover, the Galaxy S4 wakes up and springs into action.
Battery Life Although a little early for me to pass judgement (I will do that in my full review), things seem pretty good. With my iPhone 5 I just about manage a full days use between charges. In my first couple of days with the Galaxy S4 I had no problem getting through the whole day on a single charge. That is pretty impressive, considering the screen is brighter & pushing a lot more pixels, plus there is a quad core processor in this beauty of a smartphone. Add to that the fact that you could always carry a spare battery if you really need to. All this equates to a very good proposition, if you rely on your phone for long periods of time between charges.
All in all my early impressions are very positive. I test smartphones pretty much every day and can honestly say that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has caught my attention. It really could be the best smartphone of 2013.
Last week, we noted that workers had begun removing barricades and scaffolding surrounding Apple's first store in Berlin, Germany amid rumors that the store would open during the first weekend of May.
In an unusually early reveal, Apple has already confirmed the opening with a new page for the store listing the public opening as taking place at 5:00 PM on Friday, May 3. The new page also includes a unique grand opening notice that slowly shifts colors. Signage on the construction barriers surrounding the store had briefly used a similar effect.
Twitter's showing off an updated version of its Mac app today, featuring a number of key fixes, including improvements to photo sharing and a slew of new languages. On the image side of things, you can now share a photo by clicking on the camera icon in the tweet composing module, or just do it the old fashioned way by dragging pictures from your desktop. Also new in this version is support for Macs with retina displays and a total of 14 new languages, including Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese and Turkish. Interested parties can download the update via the source link below.
Well that was fast. Last year tickets for Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC)sold out in 1 hour and 43 minutes. This year the tickets are already sold out, and it happened in just about two minutes. Unless there’s some sort of bug going on here, which we’ll keep you updated on.
WWDC kicks off on June 10 and will largely focus on software, including iOS 7 and OS X, although it’s possible we’ll see some hardware announcements like we did last year. Check out our recent article on what to expect for more information.
Just think, in less than a month’s time, Microsoft will give us a reason to call the next Xbox something other than the Xbox 720. That might just be better news than anything they could possibly reveal at their upcoming showcase.
Both Game Informer and Kotaku have now confirmed that Microsoft is sending out invitations to select members of the press for their next Xbox unveiling. The presentation is set for 10am on May 21st, 2013 at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters.
We have reached out to our contact for more information. Until that happens, this is all we’ve got.
On Tuesday May 21st, we’ll mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment. On that day, we’ll be holding a special press event on the Xbox campus and we invite you to join us via the live global stream that will be available on Xbox.com, Xbox LIVE and broadcast on Spike TV if you are in the US or Canada.
On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19-days later at theElectronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.
We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.
What do you want Microsoft to announce for their next console? For me, I just don’t want the thing to require an internet connection in order to play games.
The popular Twitter client Tweetbot has been updated to version 2.8, bringing the addition of a new "media timeline" and image viewer for the iPhone and iPad apps. Media view allows users to see photos and images that have been tweeted directly in their feeds, with the text of the Tweets neatly located above the media.
The app's image viewer has also been updated to be faster and features a redesign. In addition, tweet details such as the number of favorites and retweets have been changed to update in real time, Instagram previews have been fixed, along with the standard bug fixes that come with every update.
To locate the new media view, scroll to the top of your timeline and tap the square next to the search button. The update is live now.
During Apple's earnings conference call on Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook fielded an analyst's question regarding Apple's product releases during the Fall 2012 quarter and delivered a surprisingly candid answer.
Addressing the shipping delays that plagued Apple's new iMacs, Cook articulated that Apple should had waited to release its new iMac models until this year.
"I don't spend a lot of time looking back except to learn from it," Cook explained. "If we could run it over, frankly, I would have announced the iMac after the turn of the year. We felt customers had to wait too long for that specific product."
Cook explained that despite supply constraints for the iPad mini, he would not have changed its release date, because they were still able to get the device out to millions of customers.
While supply problems for new Apple products are not uncommon -- the company tends to push its contract manufacturers and component suppliers to their limits in pursuit of "insanely great" devices -- the shipment delays associated with Apple's recent iMac refresh were atypically long. Since its release in November, Apple struggled to keep up with demand.
Twitter is close to rolling out two-step verification in response to recent hackings, according to Wired. The social network has reportedly begun internal testing before the feature becomes available in increments to users; the staggered release is to ensure smooth sailing. The extra security measure should reduce the risk of accounts, high-profile or otherwise, being hijacked, which has become a more frequent occurrence over the past few months.
Many other big-name companies have rolled out two-step verification to combat hacking. Basically, by implementing the heightened security measure, hackers will have a much more difficult time gaining access to accounts because they won’t just need a password, but a randomly generated code sent to a device, usually through SMS. I know every time I log into Google, I’m sent a six-digit code I need to input before I can actually login.
Wired wasn’t told how or when Twitter will introduce two-step verification, but with so many recent hackings, the company will surely want to get it pushed out sooner rather than later. If a simple SMS solution is planned, fine—that’s better than nothing at all. Before two-step is rolled out, though, keep your passwords safe, and watch out for misinformation from trusted sources.
Apple's annual software bash is taking place in mid June, the fruit-flavoured company has confirmed -- signalling that we're less than two months away from getting a glimpse at iOS 7.
Apple traditionally uses its WWDC conference, which is aimed at developers, to showcase new software. Last year we got a first look at iOS 6, and at 2011's show we saw iOS 5 unveiled.
The event page also promises an 'in-depth look' at what's next for OS X, the desktop software that powers the firm's Mac computers.
Apple needs to show off some impressive apps, having just revealed its first profit drop in years. It still managed to scrape together $9.5bn in the first three months of this year though, selling a massive 37.4 million iPhones in that same stretch of time.
Even more pressure is piled onto Tim Cook and company for this year's WWDC, because last year's update to iOS 6 was marred by a truly disastrous Maps app.
The cartographical car crash was so naff that Tim Cook even issued a public apology. All eyes will be on Apple to see whether it can bring some inventive new software to the table, and improve its Siri voice assistant.
The conference will follow Google's I/O shindig in mid-May, where the search giant is expected to take Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie out of the oven.
During today's Q2 2013 quarterly earnings call, Apple revealed that iCloud now has more than 300 million users, a 20% increase from the 250 million that it reported during its Q1 earnings call in January. A year ago, iCloud had just over 100M users.
Apple's iCloud originally launched in late 2011, as a replacementfor the company's MobileMe service.
iCloud, which is designed to allow users to store data from games and music, among other things, lets users sync content between multiple Apple devices. Recently, iCloud has experienced a number of service outages, with the latest occurring this morning.
Microsoft's proper Windows 8 tablet, the Surface Pro, is coming to the UK "before the end of May", according to a company blog post. The software behemoth has yet to announce prices.
The last we heard about the delayed Pro was several weeks ago, when Microsoft said it was due "in the coming months". It'll arrive in other countries next month too, covering much of Europe -- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland -- and further afield in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
The Surface Pro runs full Windows 8, rather than the cut-down Windows RT on the Surface. That means you can run any Windows-compatible software, whereas the Surface is stuck with whatever's available on the Marketplace app store. Manufacturers including Samsung have criticised RT for being hard to understand, but it's due to get Outlook at some point this year.
While a British price for the Pro is yet to materialise, it sells for $899 (£560) in the US. The £399 Surface is cheaper in the States than in the UK, thanks to our swingeing 20 per cent VAT. Plucking a number out of thin air, I reckon the Surface Pro will be £700 here.
Over the past several months, rumors of Jony Ive's influence on iOS 7 as part of his new role overseeing user interface design in addition to hardware have surfaced, indicating that Ive is pushing to adopt a "flatter" design that will modernize the look of iOS. 
