Monthly Archives: June 2013
Are These The First Shots of the iPhone 5S?
While Apple has been pretty quiet when it came to releasing major new hardware during the first half of 2013 (so far all they’ve released is an updated iPod Touch 16GB and an updated MacBook Air with amazing battery life), that hasn’t stopped the rumors about the next iPhone, the “iPhone 5S.” Over the past two weeks rumors on this next iPhone have really picked up and it seems we may have even finally gotten the first pictures of the 5S (or whatever it will be called). And as many would have guessed, it looks a lot like the iPhone 5.
The rumored new flash on the iPhone 5S
These new 5S pictures come from MacRumors and while they show a design that’s practically identical to the iPhone 5 there are already a few interesting pieces worth noting. Assuming these are legit, it looks like the 5S will have a slightly bigger battery than the 5 (about 8%-9% bigger or 5.92 Whr compared to the 5.45 Whr on the 5– hopefully this will mean better battery life), while running a new processor (possibly the A7) and will sport a second, different colored flash that will supposedly make low-light pictures look a lot better. That is all that seems to be noticeable from these leaked 5S pictures, though other reports– like this one from Reuters— say that the 5S will come in multiple colors with new features like a fingerprint scanner and a bigger screen (we obviously can’t tell any of that from these pictures).
Now we know that some of you are thinking that it’s a bit early for iPhone 5S leaks, it is possible these are legitimate pictures of the 5S once you consider how long it takes for Apple to make the millions of phones it needs for a new iPhone launch. Apple needs to start mass producing these phones months before they go on sale, so around this time would make sense if a new iPhone is really coming this fall. Of course it’s also important to remember that these are just rumors and since Apple hasn’t confirmed anything about any new iPhone all of this might be wrong and the next iPhone might be completely different from these rumors. Basically, take all of this with a grain of salt.
The next iPhone is expected to be released this fall (around September/October just like the 4S and 5 were) and you can bet that as we get closer to that time we’ll be seeing a lot more rumors like these. In the meantime, what do you want to see in the next iPhone?
More info: MacRumors (1,2), Reuters
Is Instagram About To Add Video?
As you probably have noticed by now, last week Facebook finally added official support for hashtags (meaning they actually do something now if you click on them), but they’re not done with announcements for June. This Thursday, June 20th, Facebook is holding another mystery event and according to TechCrunch this event will not be about hashtags or Facebook Home, but about adding video to Instagram. According to Matthew Keys (a former deputy social media editor at Reuters), the videos you’ll be able to share on Instagram will be similar to what you can do on Vine. They’ll be super short videos between 5-10 seconds in length which is slightly bigger than Vine’s 6 second max. While not yet as popular as Instagram, Vine (owned by Facebook’s rival Twitter) has gotten pretty big over the past few months and adding video to Instagram would finally give Facebook an answer to it.
It’s unknown if you’ll be to edit the videos with filters in the same way you can use them to edit pictures, but if this is true we’re sure we’ll find out all that and more soon enough.
More info: TechCrunch, Matthew Keys
AT&T Announces A Water-Resistant Galaxy S4, The Galaxy S4 Active
While there are a number of solid waterproof cases for phones like the iPhone and Galaxy S III, there is something to be said for not needing to have a case on your phone to protect it. With summer just about here the need for a phone that is dust or water-resistant is even greater. Well, if you’re on AT&T and have an upgrade coming up you may want to check this out. Meet the Galaxy S4 Active, a water and dust resistant version of the awesome Galaxy S4.
The Galaxy S4 Active takes everything you know and love about the Galaxy S4– the amazing 5 inch full HD screen, fast quad-core processor, cool features like Air Gesture and Dual Camera– and puts it in a design that is now water-resistant which means you can drop it in up to 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. The Galaxy S4 Active is also dust-resistant making it the perfect phone for you if you plan to spend a lot of time at the beach or pool this summer. The only real difference between the original S4 and the S4 Active is that the Active’s camera is 8 megapixels instead of 13, though don’t worry, it will still take great pictures for Instagram. And since it’s designed for use in the pool Samsung gave the S4 Active a special Aqua Mode in the camera app to let you take pictures and videos underwater.
The Galaxy S4 Active will come in two colors, grey and blue, and cost the same as the regular Galaxy S4– $200 on a new 2 year contract when it launches next Tuesday, June 18th. For more info on the S4 Active (or to pre-order it) head on over to AT&T’s site here.
More info: AT&T
iOS 7: What’s New, What’s Different and What You Should Care About
As you’ve probably heard by now, if you have a recent iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad you’re device is about to look very different come this fall. Earlier this week at their annual WWDC event Apple didn’t just give the MacBook Air a nice update but announced the future of iOS, iOS 7. In addition to adding some new features, with iOS 7 Apple decided to completely change the look of iOS, updating the design to one that is more modern and “flat.”
Here’s a quick rundown on some of the things that are new and the things you should care about in iOS 7.
Apple Updates The MacBook Air- This Is The Perfect Back To School Computer
A few weeks ago we mentioned how there were some pretty big things about to happen in terms of new computers. Well today at Apple’s annual WWDC conference Apple gave the MacBook Air a pretty major update, one that was well worth waiting for.
In that earlier post we mentioned the importance of Intel’s new Core processors (also known as “Haswell”) when it came to buying a new computer because of the major promises it offered for performance and battery life improvements. How big is this update? Enough for Apple to say that their new MacBook Airs will get all-day battery life. That’s right, not 5 hours or 7 hours, but 9 hours on the 11 inch Air and 12 hours on the 13 inch Air. Basically, these new MacBook Airs should easily get you through the day without having to find an outlet. In addition to all that Apple gave the Air a few “future-proof” upgrades including support for the newest version of WiFi (called “ac.” It’s faster and has better range than older WiFi networks and will be great as more people upgrade their routers to support this new standard over the next few years).
The good news doesn’t end there, Apple also doubled the storage on the base MacBook Airs with 128GB of storage now the standard on both the 11 and 13 inch models (it used to be a very weak 64GB on the cheapest 11 inch Air). For $200 more you could double that storage to 256GB. And while the Air didn’t get upgraded to a “Retina display,” it still has all the things we loved about it like that awesome, thin design and FaceTime HD camera. It also keeps the same prices as before, and starts at $999 for the base 11 inch version (or $949 with a student discount).
The MacBook Air was already one of the best laptops available before this update. With more storage, faster speeds and insane battery life it pretty much seals it. If you’re looking for a new computer anytime soon you should definitely look at this.
The new MacBook Air is available now on Apple’s online store.
More info: Apple
