iPhone 7 to Feature Wireless Charging and Waterproof Body

Apple’s Next iPhone – Wireless Charging

According to a report, the next iPhone of Apple would be the first to have wireless charging. A source has informed Fast Company that as support for the QI charging technology which tends to charge phones when they are placed on an inductive pad, would feature in the new model.The iPhone 7 would have a waterproof body due to the chemical coating and would do away with the headphone jack of the iPhone, as reported earlier.

If the wireless charging tends to be introduced, the iPhone 7 would be joining several Android models, inclusive of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 flagship that have the potential of charging by placing them on pads rather than being physically plugged into cables.

 It is said that the technology does not permit charging to be done over the air though it requires phone to be placed on distinct surface. The company’s first product with inbuilt inductive charging was the Apple Watch which utilises a magnetic connector that snaps onto the back of the device and recently had created a bigger magnetic charging dock based on the same design as its inductive charging puck.

New Wireless Headphones/New Handset

Inductive charging tends to work when electricity is transferred between two objects, the charging pad and the phone, for instance, through two coils such as a transmitter and a receiver. Alternating current is passed through the transmitter that tends to generate a magnetic field which in turn induces voltage in the receiver that can be utilised to power to charge a battery or a mobile device.

If Apple intends to incorporate the technology, owners of iPhone can benefit from Ikea’s wireless charging furniture range together with charging hubs in Starbucks as well as McDonalds all over the country. The option to remove the headphone jack for the purpose of creating a thinner body would ascertain to be a controversial one.

The company would probably include new wireless headphones together with new handset or a pair of headphones that tend to link to the phone through a lightning connector. The source has also mentioned that the company would incorporate noise-cancelling technology from Wolfson Microelectronics, a UK audio company that aims to eradicate background sound.

Technology Incorporated in Various Devices

Since June 2014, third parties were capable of creating lightning connector headphones, when Apple had extended its Made-for-iPhone licensing programme. The new iPhone was scheduled for release in September and signify an important moment in the history of Apple.

 It is said that the company had reportedly slashed production levels of the iPhone 6s as well as partner unit, 6s Plus by a third, due to fears of slowing demand for the `fallow year’s models, inspite of initial sales of over 13 million units in the three day of availability.

The iPhone 7 would have to have more innovative hardware changes in order to entice the legions of fan to purchase it since the developing markets tend to reach increasing levels of saturation as economy tends to shift from a purchase to an upgrade cycle.

Some of the smartphones as well as smartphone accessories have wireless charging abilities built in and this technology is being incorporated into various types of devices, appliances and much more.

Simple Code Gives Access to iPhone’s Secret Settings

iPhone’s Field Mode Concealed – Useful Tool/View Extra Information

The iPhone is one of the most impressive tool with several excellent features though there are many hidden features as well as tricks which one may have not realised that existed till now. Some of these features seem to be buried in the Settings menu while there are others that are hidden in plain sight.

The iPhone though being one of the bestselling handsets presently in the market; security researchers have condemnedthe handset due to its weak safety. A security error had been discovered in 2008 on the iPhone which enabled users to bypass the lock screen easily to access mail, bookmarks and contacts. The bug was later accepted by Apple who had issued updated software resolving the problem.

 However, access to hidden information on iPhone and enabling a user to make changes to its private setting can be done by using a simple code. Using the short code helps the user in accessing a huge amount of information on how good your signal tends to be while others could be utilised in changing hidden settings. The iPhone’s Field Mode is generally concealed though a useful tool which enables the user to view extra information on how the phone tends to get connected to the internet.

Valuable Feature – Detailed Signal Strength Indicator

Users can enable the tool on dialling *3001#12345#* followed by pressing the call button. The phone tends to switch away onto a grey screen and thereafter one will see the extra information. The most valuable features is a detailed signal strength indicator that must appear towards the top-left hand area and anything more than -80 is alike full bars on the normal scale. Anything below -110 could be one or no bars and one is unlikely to make a phone call easily.

The maximum strength to have ever achieved is about -40 and no reception is available around -120 but it could go all the way to -140. Should you need to keep that number in the corner, instead of the usual dots, then one needs to hold down the power button and the message to turn the phone off tends to appear after which you could press the home button. Thereafter the feature needs to be enabled.

Switch between Two Ways – Viewing Signal

You could switch between the two ways of looking at the signal by pressing on the display towards the top left hand area. A range of other codes tend to offer other information. By using *#33# one will get the status of the call barring setting and that tool could be turned on and off by using *33*pin# as well as #33&pin#, Swap PIN for Sim PIN. On using *#43# one will know if the call waiting is turned on or not. This feature enables user to queue up when someone tends to ring you enabling the phone to send alert if a caller has been trying to get in touch while the user is already on a call.

This could be turned on by using *43# and turned off again using #43#. Using *#06# will provide your IMEI identifier number which is very useful since it could be utilised in shutting down your phone remotely if ever it is stolen. However it could also be accessed from the Settings app or from the phone’s box.

Apple Filed a Patent for Waterproof iPhone Ports

Apple’s Patent – Methods for Shielding Electronic Components from Moisture

Apple’s patent titled `Methods for shielding electronic components from moisture’ hints at the possibility of a patent which may lead to future weather-proof Apple devices such as the iPhones, iPad, Apple Watches and much more. Though the company had filed its paperwork in June 2014, it was only revealed publicly recently. The paperwork focuses on `self-healing elastomer’ or rubber which could lose and regain its shape in order to protect the delicate inner-workings of a device.

The patent clarifies that the rubber seal on the external jacks such as the ones for headphones or a power cord, tends to open up when a plug seems to be inserted. When it is removed, the covering then reshapes and goes back in protecting the opening of the device.

Some types of the elastomer can shield from debris, dust, gas and water, besides other things and soon we might be able to take a sick dust storm selfie without routing the iPhone. There are other companies who have already been using waterproof ports for their devices.

For instance, Sony’s Z5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Active have both been using waterproof headphone and power ports which do not need special covers. Though the patent does not mean that users would get a fully water-resistant device, since Apple already holds a patent for a waterproof logic board, there is a spongy black material surrounding the circuitry for protection.

Phones Built with Logic Boards

The iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6S Plus are built with those logic boards, however, the devices are not completely waterproof though they are more resistant to water than the earlier iPhone.As per the patent filed by Apple on March 31 2014 and published on March 5, 2015, it states that `several electronic devices are susceptible to water damage since they are fully sealed and include various openings for charging, connecting peripherals, inputting and outputting audio’.

To overcome the risk of water, the patent explains that a hydrophobic or water-repelling coating having a thickness of one to ten microns, would be thin enough to preventthe intrusion with the operational opening in an electronic device. The hydrophobic coating can be applied to the printed circuit board of the device – PCB with plasma supported vapour deposition – PACVD process that charges the surface of the substrate in order to bond the coating to the charged surface.

Plasma Settles on & Adheres to Component

According to the patent, that addresses other approaches to waterproofing electronic devices, `the plasma settles on and adheres to the component, providing a robust, water-resistant, corrosion-resistant protective seal for the component’.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had mentioned last month that the Apple Watch could be worn in the shower, meaning that it is water resistant though not essentially waterproof. Though there are various cases of waterproof for iPhone 6, the patents records that if water tends to find its way through a protective case, it is game over for the phone.

Samsung had taken the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with the water resistant Galaxy S5 as an opportunity to mock the lack of water resistance of iPhone, but had left the water resistance from the list of features for Galaxy S6 as well as the Galaxy S6 Edge phones.

Slow iPhone - This Hidden Trick Can Speed Up Your Handset

Tricks to Boost Speed on Slow iPhone

Older iPhones could tend to get clogged up with app updates which could slow down the performance and stop things from running efficiently. For those putting up with slow performance with their iPhone especially on the latest versions of the software, now have the option of an immediate speed boost by clearing up memory in the phone’s App Store.

Zachary Dryer, San Francisco developer has shared a hidden trick on Twitter, illuminating that on pressing a series of buttons in the iOS App Store could get rid of accumulation of stuck app updates. Users could go to the App Store and press ten times; on any one of the five buttons, towards the bottom of the app, in a row in order to clear the cached memory which is the data that is meant to be temporary though could take up valuable storage owing to the error of the software.

While the same button is pushed in succession, the screen should go white for a few seconds and return to the homepage of App Store and clear any of the app update backlogs. This seems to be a beneficial trick if one’s App Stores tends to get stuck which would mean that the app updates are not coming through but would also provide an improvement in speed. This trick could also work on the iPad.

Each year as the iPhone tends to get older and the apps claim additional processing power, the once lightning fast model could slow down extremely. The following options could help in boosting your old handset though several of them are likely to provide a limited speed boost:

Clearing browsing history

The browsing history of Safari does not only keep track of where the user has been and when but also stores cached pages as well as cookies from browsing. The caching pages enable the user to load up certain pages much quickly and plaguing up enough data could reduce the speed of the iPhone. Clearing the cached pages often could provide a small boost which can be done by going to Setting > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.

Turning off Background App Refresh

Several of the apps tend to run in the background when not in use, checking on data like the location or refreshing the content on them, for instance, a push notification seems to be ready to read when one is loaded. Best of the apps are created to limit the effect on battery life as well as performance by only refreshing at certain times such as when the iPhone seems to be idle or plugged in. But it is not often correctly implemented.

Disabling the capability of refreshing apps in the background would mean some of the app could be slower or spring to life when loaded back up though would recover the performance. You can go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh to change this. One could turn off all background refreshes or the one that are not needed. Skype and Facebook seems to be the ones which have been reported to be active in the background.

Using Apple’s Apps

The official apps of Apple – Mail, Camera, Maps, Safari and much more, tend to have special permission, which regularly enables them to run quicker and efficiently than third party apps. However, several of the users tend to prefer alternatives like Google Maps, Chrome or Outlook and if these tend to slow down, it is worth switching it.

Clearing up some of the space

Clearing of the files could be an easy option to speed up the computer and get rid of some of the apps and the related data which may take up space on the phone could streamline it, probably may improve battery life. To check which apps have been utilising the space, you could go to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > Manage Storage, which will indicate what apps have been taking up most of the data, In some of the cases, as with apps such as Twitter and Spotify, deleting and reinstalling them could free up most of the cached data. Another option of clearing space is to delete the old photos after they are backed up

Reduce Motion

Animations when flicked between apps tend to look good but they seem to be another process wherein the iPhone has to go through as one tends to use it. This could be turned off by going to Settings> General> Accessibility> Reduce Motion.

Resetting Settings

A little risky step enabling in keeping you apps as well as photos would be in resetting the iPhone setting like the Touch ID, app permissions, display settings and much more wherein several users have reported better performance with the reset. This is also another technique of spring cleaning the phone. But this would remove plenty of stored data like Wi-Fi networks, alarms as well as Siri and is only suggested if the need arises. You could go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Setting to go through the process. However user needs to be cautioned that this would delete everything on the phone and is only used as a last resort. It basically tends to rebuild the phone from scratch, just the way when it had been first taken out of the box, though a few years of usage would mean that it still will not function as well as, when it was first received. Backing up the phone in advance is worth it, though some of the speed advantage of a full reset are annulled by putting everything back on. This can be done by going to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings

One Thing to be avoided

It is a common misconception that on closing apps in the background, one could save the battery life or even speed up the iPhone. Closing of the apps would mean that a lot of power is being utilised in opening them up again while leaving them inactive in the background tend to have little effect.

Hunter debuts first HomeKit-connected ceiling fans

Hunter’s Ceiling Fan Models with Smartphone Connectivity Support

With the CES announcement on the success of Apple’s product ecosystem, which includes Apple’s internet of things HomeKit procedure, Hunter Fan Company revealed two Wi-Fi enabled ceiling fans with smartphone connectivity support. Hunter intends to introduce two fan models in the Symphony and Signal which would be featuring Wi-Fi technology together with HomeKit support for smart home mechanizations as well as voice control through Apple’s Siri virtual assistant.

Besides the app based remote control abilities, the connected fans could be activated by utilising the geolocation functions of HomeKit or included as part of a larger scene macro. For instance, users could set a geolocation trigger to turn off fan light, lock the doors and draw the blinds when they intend leaving their house.

Moreover, the fans assimilate with the prevailing smart phone products such as connected thermostats as well as the other HomeKit enabled devices in providing complete automation features. The fan’s dimmable LED light, for instance could be triggered to illuminate when a HomeKit smoke detector tends to go off. The Symphony and the Signal presently are the only ceiling fans which tend to support Apple’s HomeKit home automation platform and they are also the first connected home products of Hunter Fan Company.

Symphony & Signal – Scenes & Triggers

The Symphony and Signal ceiling fans besides being connected to a home’s Wi-Fi network are controlled with Siri voice commands with the capabilities to interface with other HomeKit products such as light and thermostats for a full connected home experience with the use of Scenes and Triggers.

For instance, with a Scene, a home owner having several HomeKit products can at the same time lock door, turn on the lights as well as turn the fan off. With a Trigger, the fan could be set to come on in certain situations like when a HomeKit connected fire alarm tends to detect smoke. John Alexander, Hunter Fan CEO has commented that `their ceaseless innovation is why Hunter Fan is the industry leader and these new Wi-Fi enabled fans together with the support for Apple HomeKit are a testament to the heritage of progress and originality.

 They are beautiful, affordable, high quality pieces of décor which tends to bring state-of-the-art Wi-Fi technology where it may not be expected – the ceiling fan. As we celebrate 130 years, we have several exciting developments to share with the customers and are proud to kick off 2016 at CES with Symphony and Signal’.

Dimmable Integrated Lighting/WhisperWind Functions

The fans tend to measure around 54 inches and are provided with dimmable integrated lighting together with WhisperWind functions for the purpose of powerful air movement with quiet operation. While the Symphony fan has a modern design with white blades, the Signal has wood finished blades with satin nickel housing.

Symphony will be priced at $329 and Signal will be offered at $379. The HomeKit connected fans of Hunter Fan Company would be made available for purchase towards the beginning of spring of 2016 from the company’s website as well as from Amazon, Lowe, HomeDepot and many others.