Anandtech published their iPad Pro review over the weekend, which is significant not only because the iPad Pro is one of Apple’s most different tablets yet, but because it also brings a new set of technologies to the table that ensure tablets stay relevant, at least for the next few years. First-party accessories alone are where the iPad Pro “earns its “Pro” moniker on the basis of its accessories”, but the Apple Pencil means that it’s “shockingly good as a pencil/pen and paper replacement”.
The latest rumour from 9to5Mac claims Apple will release a smaller-sized iPhone this time around, with Apple going with a “SE” naming convention, standing for both “special edition” and “enhanced” for the 4-inch display size and iPhone 5s internals, respectively. 9to5Mac claims the iPhone 5se will not have 3D Touch, but will otherwise come with mostly the same features as current iPhones.
A separate rumour claims we’ll see this smaller-screened iPhone as early as March. MacRumors says the proposed March event won’t have any new Apple Watch hardware, but instead new bands, along with the iPad Air 3 and the launch of the iPhone 5se. It’s funny that all we wanted was a bigger iPad, but now all we want is a smaller iPhone.
A paywalled article from the Wall Street Journal reports that the Apple lead on the company’s electric car, “Project Titan”, will be leaving Apple. Steve Zadesky currently holds the title of VP of Product Design, is believed to be the lead on Apple’s EV project, and has informed colleagues he will be leaving the company for personal reasons.
Analysts Piper Jaffray have crunched the numbers, and they’re saying Apple’s iPhone upgrade program has sold about 250,000 iPhones. While that number is only about 3-5% of devices sold via Apple Stores during the same period, it’s not a bad start for a program that is currently only available in the US.
After a Bloomberg report revealed Google paid $1 billion to keep the Google search bar on the iPhone, MacStories has called the move somewhat hypocritical, given Apple’s stance on user privacy. If true, it sends an interesting message: Apple will stand for your privacy, but is otherwise happy to profit from other companies disrespecting your privacy.
While I’m glad that we won’t see an Apple Watch successor for the next few months, the pace of the wearables market means there will be new hardware eventually. Which leads to the question: what kind of hardware changes would it take for someone to upgrade, given the limited use cases of the Apple Watch at present? Macworld asks that question and more.
A story from Motherboard tells us about refurbished iPods, where people gut iPod classics and replace them with more durable solid-state components such as CompactFlash cards or otherwise.
Over at iMore, Stephen Hackett remembers a few of the weirder Apple accessories. The iPad keyboard dock was simply ahead of its time, they’ll claim, but what about the iPhone Bluetooth headset, or iPod socks?
Andy Ihnatko imagines a world where Apple is no good at running media events. Imagine if they had multiple execs on stage at a time, conferenced in people via video, and invited a celebrity who then walked off stage when his teleprompter failed.
Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/01/monday-morning-news250116/