Tag: Apple

Should You Buy the New iPhone XS?

Only if you fall into one of these five categories.

The new iPhone XS is expensive. Like last year’s iPhone X, it costs $999. The larger XS Maxcosts $100 more—and if you opt for additional storage capacity, its price could reach nearly $1,500. With the days of carrier-subsidized hardware purchases but a shiny memory, that’s a lot of money to pay out of pocket. It makes the question “Should I buy this year’s iPhone?” all the more important.
For some, the answer is a resounding no. Unless you’re the most devoted Apple aficionado, purchasers of the 2017 iPhone X don’t need to upgrade. With Apple’s first $1,000 iPhone, the company set the stage for devices meant to last longer than the old two-year renewal cycle. The device has an excellent camera, speedy processor, and strong glass on its front and rear faces—the iPhone XS just slightly improves on all that. For those with slightly older devices, upgrading to iOS 12 may also satisfy the itch for a faster, more efficient device without spending a cent.
Based on the device’s specs and feature set, and the consensus from early iPhone XS reviews, there are some iOS users who could benefit from the upgrade. Here are the five categories of people who should most strongly consider making this purchase.

If iOS 12 doesn’t fix your problems

iOS 12 became available for download on Monday and is compatible with devices as old as the iPhone 5S. If you’re considering getting a new phone, give it a spin first—those who’ve been using the public and final betas of iOS 12 have found it largely improves performance of their older iOS devices.
If your main issue with your current device is that it’s slow or buggy, that’s a software-related issue iOS 12 could fix. A week or two of use should give you a good idea of whether the operating system update was what you needed. However, if your problems with your device are more hardware-related—the camera takes poor-quality photos, the phone is scratched beyond recognition, or buttons are no longer working properly—a new phone may be in order.

If you’re prone to dropping your phone

When it comes to durability, not all iPhones are created equal. Despite its looks, and its glass back, the iPhone X actually proved to be one of the more drop-resistant phones.
The iPhone XS and XS Max should build on that. Apple says it included the most durable glassever used in a smartphone—possibly Corning’s Gorilla Glass 6, which Cult of Mac reported would turn the 2018 iPhone’s display “into a tank.”
While you’re likely to incur scratches, the new phone should, in theory, be more drop-resistant than older models. If your phone is at least two years old and its display is spiderwebbed (or you’ve dropped hundreds of dollars on replacement displays), the new, stronger iPhone XS may be in order.

If you’re an iPhoneographer

Quality photographs can make a big difference on social media, and smartphones continue to inch their way to the quality of more expensive standalone cameras. If smartphone photography is a big part of what you do (or aspire to do) professionally—or it’s otherwise your top concern about your phone—the iPhone XS or XS Max could be worth the upgrade. While these phones have the same dual 12-megapixel telephoto and wide-angle lenses on back and 7-megapixel camera up front as the iPhone X, Apple has improved its image signal processor so that the device can capture better photos than its predecessor.
For TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino, it’s the new Smart HDR feature that sets this camera over the top. “For a company as prone to hyperbole and Maximum Force Enthusiasm about its products, I think that [Apple has] dramatically undersold how much improved photos are from the iPhone X to the iPhone XS,” Panzarino said. “Your camera roll as a whole will just suddenly start looking like you’re a better picture taker, with no intervention from you.”

If you can count it as a tax write-off

Is owning the new iPhone an integral part of your job and what you do? If you can expense the device, whether on your personal taxes or to your employer, by all means, upgrade away.
And if you have the option, you may as well upgrade to the 512 GB storage variant so you never, ever having to worry about that annoying “Storage Almost Full” notification on your iPhone again. Good luck explaining that necessity to your accountant, though.

If you need that status symbol

Oh my god, if you don’t get the new iPhone, will it be social suicide? Well, you better get the iPhone XS Max in the new gold coloration so that anyone who sees you can tell immediately that you have the newest, largest iPhone in existence.
If you’re worried that the gold model may come across as tacky, rest assured: Apple has developed a classy hue with just a hint of rose. (It’s “less ‘pawn shop gold’ and more ‘this is very expensive’ gold,” according to TechCrunch). Will it match your existing gold iPhone accessories? Probably not, so you’ll need to replace those too.
If you own an older device (2+ years old) and are still on the fence, there’s no rush. In the past, some hardware and software issues have taken a few weeks to crop up on new iPhones. Waiting also gives you time to assess whether the slightly cheaper iPhone XR may better suit your needs. The iPhone XR isn’t available for preorder until Oct.19.
While their incremental improvements over last year’s iPhone X aren’t particularly earth-shattering, the 2018 iPhones do seem like quality devices that could support their hefty sticker price with longevity.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Explodes In A Handbag

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Reportedly Explodes In Women’s Handbag

Aside from the brand new Apple iPhones, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is arguably one of the most desired phones currently on the market. With it releasing such a short time ago the early reaction to it has been quite positive. It seems, however, that a few ghosts (thought put to rest) might be rearing their head again for Samsung.
In a report via CNET, a woman owner has reported that her phone literally exploded whilst in her handbag.

What Happened?

The woman from America has issued a lawsuit against Samsung. In it, she claims that she noticed that the phone started to get unusually hot, but clearly didn’t think too much about it and put it in her handbag. Shortly afterwards though she says that she heard a ‘whistling sound’ and eventually smoke began to erupt.
She tipped her handbag onto the floor and the phone wasn’t extinguished until a person placed it in a bucket of water.
This is, however, all very nightmarish for Samsung who, you might remember, had major problems with the batteries in their Note 7 models.

What Has Samsung Said?

In a statement DJ Koh, head of Samsung’s mobile business has said: “The battery in the Galaxy Note 9 is safer than ever. Users do not have to worry about the batteries anymore. Samsung takes customer safety very seriously. And we stand behind the quality of the millions of Galaxy devices in use in the United States. We have not received any reports of similar incidents involving a Galaxy Note 9 device. And we are investigating the matter.”
Given the volatility of lithium-ion batteries, it is possible that this was an isolated incident. It is equally possible that the battery may have been damaged. Dare I say, due to an error on the part of the owner. Hopefully, this will be an isolated incident.
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!

What This Apple Supplier Told Us About the 2019 iPhones

Look for a big wireless boost in the successor to the iPhone XR.

On Sept. 12, Apple  launched three new iPhones. At the high-end of its product stack, Apple introduced the iPhone XS — the direct successor to last year’s iPhone X — and the iPhone XS Max, a variant of the iPhone XS with an even bigger screen. For more price-sensitive customers, Apple offered a product called the iPhone XR, which incorporates many of the new technologies found in the iPhone XS/XS Max, but uses cheaper components in some cases to reduce the cost structure of the device.
One way Apple seemingly chose to save money with the iPhone XR relative to the higher-end iPhone XS models is in the cellular subsystem. Apple says that the iPhone XS/XS Max support “gigabit-class LTE with 4×4 MIMO and [licensed assisted access].” The iPhone XR, on the other hand, simply supports “LTE Advanced” — just as Apple’s 2017 flagship smartphones do.
Apple’s choice not to endow the iPhone XR with the same cellular capabilities of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have led longtime Apple chip supplier Broadcom  to admit that it lost some of the business in this year’s iPhone lineup.
“Nonetheless, from time-to-time, not that often, but time-to-time, the same technology platform used by our customer may expand beyond one generation,” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan explained on the company’s Sept. 6 earnings conference call. “And when this happens, it does create an opportunity for a customer to temporarily use lower performance alternatives in selected SKUs.”
Tan did say, though, that “every indication we have is that the cadence of annual platform upgrades will resume in the upcoming 2019 smartphone generation.”
This seems to tell us, then, that Apple’s planning a wireless technology upgrade for the next iteration of the iPhone XR.

Apple’s straightforward iPhone XR upgrade path

Apple clearly had to do a significant amount of engineering work to get the iPhone XR ready to go for the current product cycle. Relative to its predecessors — iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus — it sports a new casing design and a new display in addition to upgraded internals. The next iteration of the iPhone XR should be a more straightforward proposition — I expect Apple to keep the same basic design but deliver internal specification updates.
One of those updates, if Broadcom’s take on the situation is right, should be a move to a more advanced cellular subsystem.
What isn’t totally clear, though, is whether Apple will continue to differentiate the successors to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus from the iPhone XR through wireless capabilities or if it’ll endow them all with the same capabilities. Indeed, one reason Tan’s comments could indicate the latter is that if Apple were to simply give the next iPhone XR the same cellular capabilities as this year’s iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, then Apple would, in effect, be reusing one of the platforms that it used in the current product cycle.
I still expect Apple to continue to significantly differentiate the iPhone XS/XS Max successors from the iPhone XR successor, but cellular capabilities might not be one of the ways it does that next year.
Motley Fool Issues Rare “Double Down” Buy Alert
Motley Fool CEO, Tom Gardner, just issued a rare “double down” buy alert on one remarkable California company.
And here’s the real kicker…
Despite this company’s jaw-dropping success over the past few years, most investors have still never even heard of this company’s name!
That’s right, while everyone on CNBC is busy talking about blue-chip stocks like Apple and Facebook, this significantly smaller (yet faster-growing!) company is flying almost completely under the radar.
And Tom is so convinced that he’s right with this new “double down” buy alert…that he’s got $523,111 of The Motley Fool’s money on the line…

What Will Apple Announce At Its September 12 Event? My Predictions On The New iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max

The expectations around Apple’s upcoming September 12th event are curious. On one side of the coin Apple is set to double down on the technology packed into last year’s iPhone X handset, with an update to the base mode, a phablet-sized version to increase audience appeal, and a lower-priced model to replace the four year old iPhone 6 design. The other side looks at Apple’s approach of incrementally updating the line up as a way to keep the faithful engaged as it struggles to match up with the rush of innovation seen in Android while taking no risks that may disrupt the sales of the Golden Goose.
The faithful are going to get very excited with the new handsets. Every increased specification, every larger screen, every extra gigabyte of storage will see a cheer that tries to raise the roof of the Steve Jobs Center – as if any of the news will be genuine new to those paying attention.
But annual iPhone sales continue to stay locked into the 200 to 210 million handsets per year window. Apple is not reaching out to new markets with significant success. Can this year change that script? Even if that is possible, would Tim Cook gamble the guaranteed handset sales in his hand for the potential of ‘super cycle’ of iPhones?
Last year’s choice of ‘iPhone X’ as the title of the tenth-anniversary smartphone harkened back to successful products such as OS-X, but also led many to question what would happen with the next handset family. Would it be iPhone 11? iPhone Xi? iPhone X2?
The answer appears to be the old trick of adding an ’S’ to the handset. Tis started with the iPhone 5S, denoting updated internals, but not updating the design. Following that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S continued the tradition. By retaining the design the iPhone 7 broke that chain, and the iPhone 8 buried the links.
Tim Cook has taken the backwards step, and the iPhone X follow-up will be the iPhone XS – reinforcing the idea of a small update to keep the chip specifications in line with the competition. Curiously the phablet sized version will not be the iPhone XS Plus, but is expected to be the iPhone X Max. While the West gets the ‘plus’ suffix to mean phablet, using ‘max’ is a new trick in the US and Europe, but is a common conceit in BRIC countries. Watch for this naming convention to carry over to marketing strategies.
Design wise don’t expect too much to change from last year’s iPhone X to this year’s iPhone XS. No doubt there’ll be talk of a thinner phone, lighter materials, and possibly ‘more space for the battery’ but in terms of new technology the iPhone XS looks to be fresh out of ideas. While the rest of the industry works on improved fingerprint recognition with easier access (through the display), Apple will continue to rely solely on FaceID.
Last year’s iPhone X did have one new piece of technology that is still to be used. While wireless charging was added to the X (and to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus) Apple’s full power wireless charging solution – AirPower – is still not available to the public. Thankfully the handsets are Qi compatible but Apple’s proud new world of wireless technology has been vaporware for 12 months. Here’s hoping this launch will see practical implementations available to consumers.
Then there’s the iPhone XS Max. Effectively a larger screen than the iPhone XS, Apple may be adding a few hardware tweaks to the ‘Max’ model to help it stand out, but don’t expect much more than a larger screen and more space for the battery (that will be needed to power the larger screen). One addition may be in the telecoms circuitry. It’s likely that Apple’s first dual-SIM iPhone will be the iPhone XS Max, but availability could be limited to BRIC territories… which helps explain the naming switch from Plus to Max.
The big news of course will the ‘cheapest iPhone X model ever’ as Apple seeks to position its third tier model as a ‘budget’ iPhone X. The 6.1 inch screened model will echo the iPhone XS, but with a cheaper LCD screen. Compared to the iPhone XS and XS Max it will be cheaper, and arguably it will be “better value” than the iPhone 8 that it replaces.
But it is not a successor to the iPhone SE (although don’t discount a specs bump so Apple can retain some presence in the $400 price range), the presumptively named iPhone XR is a successor to the iPhone 8. It biases Apple’s portfolio further towards the high end, driving up average revenue per customer and increasing Apple’s turnover. When your sales are effectively static year on year, making more money per customer is vital to Apple’s bottom line. It can’t continue forever, but maybe Tim Cook will get another year before everyone realises he’s following Ballmer’s playbook.
With minimal updates to the technology in the iPhone line-up, expect Tim Cook and his team to bulk out the presentation with a trip round Apple’s (financially vital) cloud services and growing peripheral business.
The biggest update should be to the Apple Watch. The fourth version of the smartwatch is arguably Apple’s biggest success story of the last few years and one of the few areas that Tim Cook can legitimately claim as his own. The wearable is not standalone and requires connection to an iOS device (helping keep that average revenue per user high) and has evolved into a more fitness focused product and remote control.
Expect the focus to be placed on the connection to Apple Health and the cloud based analysis on the data that can be performed on your own data. Yes there’s a new Podcasts app and some media controls as well, but expect these to stay closely tied to the iOS device paired to the Apple Watch.
The iPad Pro range is expecting an update for the Christmas quarter. It may or may not get a reveal here, and I think its appearance (and that of any macOS based product) will come down to the amount of stage time that the iPhone is going to receive. If Apple is going to explain every little detail of the updated handsets (hoping that the press don’t compare it to the standard load out on a mid- to high-end Android smartphone), then the iPad Pro will be relegated to a smaller October event or a quiet roll out on the Apple website during Q4.
As for the outside bets, there continues to be a lot of chatter around a new MacBook design to match the thinner fashionable designs employed by other manufacturers. That could be a reworked MacBook, or the resuscitation of the MacBook Air brand.
Also on the ‘take a big punt’ docket is an update to the Mac Mini designed for the high demands of graphical work. It would be nice, it would be welcomed, and a genuine update to a beloved classic. Done properly it could be the most surprising “One More Thing…” in the last decade.
I’m not holding my breath for that surprise. Or any other surprise. Tim Cook’s Apple has played it safe and taken baby steps to match the competition for the last few years. It’s not going to think different any time soon.