Tag: apple

Yesterday, Apple unveiled new and improved tablets.

The electronics giant showed off its new iPad Air 2 its iPad Mini 3 and new iMac with retina display at the Town Hall Auditorium within the company’s Cupertino HQ campus on Thursday, October 16, 2014.

The new tablet design is thinner and faster.

The iPad Air 2 is slimmer and faster than its predecessor and it s a quarter inch “thin”. More specifically it is 6.1 millimeters, making it 18% thinner compared to the original iPad Air. It is equipped with many features previously available on iPhones, such as the ability to take slow-motion video and burst shots. The rear camera has been enhanced from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels, just like the cameras in iPhones. Also, instead of unlocking the device with a passcode, it can now be unlocked with a fingerprint ID, making it more secure.

In addition, Apple’s new 27-inch iMac, dubbed the “Retina 5K” model has a shaper display with seven times the pixels found on standard high-definition TV sets. This may make the new high-resolution iMac appealing to consumers who primarily watch television over the internet. It went on sale Thursday.

The company also released its new Yosemite operating system for Macs, which was made available as a free download starting Thursday. The OS update includes new functionality, such as a one-stop search tool for online resources and locally stored documents, as well as the ability to make telephone calls with a nearby iPhone.

iPad Air 2 will be facing competition from cheaper tablets.

Apple has had a drop in iPad sales. During the first half of 2014, the company shipped 29.6 million iPads, which is a 13% decrease from the same time in 2013. Part of the reason for the decrease in sales is there has been a slowdown in tablet demand.

Also, Apple faces competition from cheaper Android-powered tablets. In fact, on Wednesday, Google announced its 8.9 inch Nexus 9 tablet which runs off Android’s newest operating system Lollipop and will be available next month and is $100 cheaper than the latest version of the iPad Air. However, Apple did announce that it will be lowering the prices of the earlier version of its devices, making them “more affordable”.

According to Apple’s senior vice president, Phil Schiller, the iPad Air 2 will cost US$499 and the iPad Mini 3 will be US$399. Advanced orders for the devices will start today and the tablets will be shipped next week.

Leaked training material helps shed light on Apple Pay features

Apple has begun training its retail employees on the various aspects of its new mobile payment service. The company recently unveiled Apple Pay, which represents its first step into the mobile payments space. The service has yet to officially launch, but it has already received strong praise from businesses and consumers alike. Training material acquired by 9to5Mac sheds some light on some of the features of Apple Pay and shows off features of the service that have not yet been revealed officially.

Apple Pay is designed to work with Passbook

According to the training material, Apple Pay can be set up through the Passbook application. Passbook is Apple’s version of a digital wallet, capable of storing a wide range of virtual information, including special deals offered by retailers and financial details. The service can also be set up through the initial iOS 8 startup process for new iOS devices. As many as eight credit and debit cards can be associated with Apple Pay at any given time and these cards can be linked to Apple Pay through a user’s iTunes account.

NFC technology will control mobile transactions made through Apple Pay

Apple Pay will be using NFC technology in order to facilitate mobile payments. This technology has comprised the backbone of the mobile commerce space for some time, but Apple had considered it dangerous in the past. Over the past few years, Apple has been taking a slow approach to the mobile payment space, citing security concerns as the reason for its cautious approach. Apple may have found a way to make NFC technology more secure using biometric technology.

Apple Pay set to launch October 18

According to a leaked memo from one of Apple’s launch partners for Apple Pay, the new mobile payment service is set to see an official launch on October 18. The service will be available for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices, as well as Apple’s forthcoming wearable devices that is expected to be launched at some point in early 2015.