Apple MacOS 10.13.4 Brings Full External GPU Support to Recent MacBooks

The newly released MacOS 10.13.4 not only adds support for external GPU but also adds business chat and a new security feature present in iOS 11.3. First announced by Apple in the WWDC held last year, Apple now works on that promise by bringing external GPU support to MacBooks with the improved MacOS 10.13.4 update.

The upgradeable external GPU with the MacOS update increasingly solves most problems when it came to professionals using MacBooks. As MacBooks moved more towards the customer end of the table, professionals like video editors, 3-D modelers, VR Developers and the like were left with often mediocre and un-upgradable GPUs which was a major setback for these kinds of professionals. Another major disadvantage was that these professionals were stuck using 15 inch MacBook models and the 12 inch MacBooks and the 13 inch MacBook Pros still relied on an integrated graphics card.

What’s great about the MacOS 10.13.4 update bringing external GPU support? 

For those professionals who are video editors, 3-D modelers and the like, this MacOS 10.13.4 update brings in the necessary horse power without compromising on battery life, form factor and while also keeping the price of the MacBook models low for non- professional users.

What was the problem before MacOS 10.13.4 update? 

Prior to the MacOS 10.13.4 update, many professionals had to add graphics cards to their systems but even adding a high end graphics card to their system gave mediocre results. While the external graphics card gave the necessary horse power and was excellent for gaming, it still felt as an add- on as compared to a seamless feature of the MacBook. Apart from this, users also complained of glitches and bugs even in popular games like FinalCut.

The new Thunderbolt 3 with MacOS 10.13.4: 

With the new Thunderbolt’s 40 Gbps transfer rate and some other Apple updates, Professional users can now enjoy better external GBU support than before. Although these transfer rates are not the best that is out there, they still are capable when it comes to most uses. This solution is better for those who do not want to move over to other powerful PCs like Linux or Windows.

The Drawbacks: 

As of now Apple only supports AMD graphics cards so getting support for the industry leading graphics card- GTX 1080 TI for example would need hacking and some other methods if you are to get around to using it. This still leaves the RX Vega 64 and some other cards that could provide amazing graphic capabilities without any support.

Besides not having support for non-AMD graphics cards and if you do decide to get one such card then you have to also think of getting a dedicated enclosure for it. The non- AMD graphics card as well as the enclosure for it are not going to come cheap and what makes it an even steeper buy is the fact that you would have already forked over quite a bit of money when it came to buying the MacBook in the first place.

Apple iOS 11.3 Update – What to Expect from the Major Upgrade

Apple iOS 11.3 Finally Comes to the iPhone Today

iOS updates are both a time of rejoice and suspicion for the iPhone all over the world alike. The last major iOS update didn't went well with the users as Apple got embroiled in the controversy of slowing down the iPhone devices deliberately which didn't even came to notice for almost a year until a clever tech enthusiast blew the lid for Apple. iOS 11.3 promises more new features like every other major update but this time around Apple is looking forward to enhance the battery performance.

iOS 11.3 release date is just round the corner

Apple will be releasing the iOS 11.3 update on Tuesday March 27 on global scale. It will be made available on the iPad, iPhone and even the iPod Touch. The best thing about the release date of iOS 11.3 is that it is carefully planned to coincide with the "Let’s Take A Field Trip Event" where industry experts speculate that Apple will be launching first ever Budget iPad variant.

iOS 11.3 will also offers a new set of emoji along with an a unique option which allows users to boost teh iPhone performance to the next level. Now users will be able to fasten the performance of the iPhone in order to job done quickly than earlier by giving a simple tap on this every exquisite option.

Better performing Health app

iOS 11.3 version will boost the capability of the Apple Health app by allowing users to look through their medical records on the go. However the medical records availability is dependent on whether your medical institution is a partner of the ‘Apple Health’. In order to keep the user data secure Apple is encrypting the data with a passcode.

New AR experience for everyone

With iOS 11.3 is bringing the Augmented Reality features baked into its varied range of devices. Virtual Reality needs specific headgear in order to enjoy and interact with the virtual images but AR doesn't require any additional equipment. Rather users can enjoy the computer generated images on their real surroundings using the phone's camera.

The latest iOS 11.3 update will allow iPhone camera to recognize as well as virtual objects right on the vertical objects present in the real world like doors and walls. Secondly Apple has made some serious development in the recent times which allows iPhone to recognize 2D objects with greater perfection.

Keen to reduce the battery woes

Apple is finally doing something about the battery issue which plagues the iPhone for a really long time with iOS 11.3 update. Now iOS users will be able see their battery health and receive suggestion to improve the battery performance. iOS 11.3 will also give some genuine advice about taking the battery for service at Apple Store.

In order to make use of these features users are simply required to go to the Settings followed by selecting the option “Battery on an iPhone 6 or later”. Users can even check whether the iPhone’s power management feature is activated or not with the iOS 11.3 update.

Patent Office Grants Apple 6 iPhone X Design Patents that Protect the Controversial Display Notch

Apple gets six iPhone X Designs Patented and it all has to do with the Notch

Recently Honk Kong’s Patent Office granted Apple with patents for six iPhone X designs. Seemingly, Apple has gone and gotten its famed “notch”, seen on the iPhone X, patented. The patent consists of six images that protect the entire iPhone X design. This patent covers the backside dual lens camera and the front TrueDepth camera space or what we know as the “notch”.

The rest of the patent covers each and every aspect of the iPhone X design to ensure that every aspect of the iPhone X design is protected. Apart from other patent applications, patents dealing with designs do not cover a whole range of details concerning the patent. You apparently just get the bare figures as they stand and not much more.

Apple discontinuing its famous notch on the iPhone X? 

In the U.S. Apple has got a single patent for its iPhone X design, granted to the company in Jan of this year.

Those companies out there waiting to jump in on the Apple notch trend in their iPhone X design may want to take care. A poll shows that Apple users were split between liking the notch trend and not. While most users found the notch a tad unnecessary, others felt that the notch on the iPhone X design was a clear design flaw.

Apple competitors may want to give the notch a skip when it comes to their next phones. As some of them love to copy what Apple has to offer, it may not come as surprise if you see new phones with the notch scheme on the front. Reports shows the notch trend is on the downward spiral, meaning that competitors may want to steer clear of the unholy notch or “design flaw” on the front of their phones.
Apple too seems tired of their notch trend and is planning to drop the same in their iPhone design in 2019. Apple plans on releasing an OLED iPhone which will not have the notch on its design in 2019. This may be a strategy in which Apple is trying to differentiate itself from a Chinese manufacturer who took the notch trend a little too seriously and went in for its next phone’s manufacture with the notch.

Apple has also had discussions with its various companies about the new iPhone design, that involves not having a notch on its front screen. The Cupertino company feels that having a full screen, unobstructed by any notch or other “design flaw” will give the iPhone a more complete design.

Samsung too has skipped the notch trend on the iPhone X design when it came to their Galaxy S9 offering. They took the Apple route when it came to 3D face recognition and Emoji AR but skipped out on the infamous notch design. This maybe because the company would face a backlash from having copied a not- so – necessary- feature in their design.

Apple may plan to drop their notch completely from their iPhone X designs but for now, if these patents are anything to go by, the notch maybe here to stay.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Vs Apple iPhone X

It’s the battle of the phones coming in from one side is the S.Korean Company Samsung, from the other side is the Cupertino company Apple. For both companies the S9 and iPhone X are their flagship phones and also the most expensive than whatever they’ve previously offered. While Apple moved from 8 to X directly, Samsung did not skip the 9 bump up from S8.

While marketing any product for any company is a huge deal as it defines their place in the market, it is no different for Samsung or Apple in this regard. Both are keen on showing off their flagship phones and maintaining or maybe even increasing their market share.

Photos on both phones: 

What is similar between these two phones is that they both have 2 cameras, both these flagship phones have a telephoto camera while the Samsung S9 has a wide angle camera as well. Another common feature on both phones is that both these cameras are at a resolution of 12 megapixels.

Now here comes the difference: with the Samsung S9, the phone actually takes 12 pics simultaneously and then selects one with the level of detail you require, less noise and as little grain as possible. The iPhone X on the other hand takes 3 pics and does the same instead of 12 pics.

Display and Design: 

While the S9 has a screen size of 5.8 inches and the S Plus has a screen size of 6.2 inches, the iPhone X has a 5.8 inch screen much like the S9.

iPhone X has got a notch on the top part of the display but Samsung took a different route by making an uninterrupted rectangular screen. For a person who buys a phone based on screen size they will have to decide carefully between a screen with a notch but smaller bezels or a screen without a notch and larger bezels.

Processor on both phones: 

The Samsung S9 will come out in two models one with a Snapdragon 845 chip that will be available in the US and the other model will have Samsung’s own Exynos processor that will be available in Europe.

The snapdragon 845 looks good on paper with a 2.8 GHz of processing power and 8 processing cores.

The iPhone X uses an A11 Bionic chip that has a 2.4 GHz processing power and 6 core processing units. While this may look not-as-good-as the Samsung S9, Apple has a way of making the processors work well with their software and their iOS. Apple might not be behind Samsung when it comes to the processing department with the iPhone X.

Storage: 

While Samsung Provides an option of additional storage with the S9 having a built-in storage of 64 GB and an additional capacity of up to 400GB.

Apple’s iPhone X has no option of additional capacity and the maximum they offer you is 256 GB.
The S9 uses both finger scanning and iris reading as methods of security while iPhone X has gone the facial recognition route.

Apple Granted a Patent for a Dual Display MacBook or Second Generation iPad Pro

MacBook or Second Generation iPad Pro to have Two Screens?

The US Patent and Trademark Office recently published two new patents filed by the Cupertino company in 2015. Apple may be on to making a device with dual screen. The so-called-device seems to be in the form of a notebook with two screens that is attached by a hinge that allows one of the screens to be used as a keyboard, gaming console or sketch pad. In another scenario the hinge used to secure the two screens together could be detachable and the likely device could be used as a second generation iPad Pro.

The device is said to have in one case a permanent hinge while in next case it could also have a detachable magnetic kind of hinge that will lead to apple making a dual device with two screens. This dual screen tech that Apple has going will be also usable with the user wearing a pair of sunglasses too.

Non-reflective dual display: 

With this multiple use screen that may double as a keyboard or gaming console, apple has used tech that prevents the screens from reflecting off one and another. Apple has used polarized layers and some other optical layers in making their iconic dual display. This tech is to allow the wearer of vertically polarized sunglasses to view material on the dual display with a minimum of reflection. Another possible use of this tech is to minimize reflections from the first screen onto the second screen.

Apple may not have been the first company to go in for dual screen devices as Lenovo has already entered the market with its sleek dual screen notebook. According to reports, the first display could be a liquid crystal display that has an inner and outer liner polarizer.

The second display may come in an organic light- emitting diode display. The second display having organic light emitting diodes could have pixels that contain thin film- like transistors and these organic diodes that emit light. The second display may also come with a circular polarizer which is used to cover the pixels to suppress ambient light reflections.

The patent termed as “dual screen with enhanced visibility and suppressed reflections” may come in a device that has the first screen and then directly below it the second screen as a horizontal strip while the rest of the base may be a keyboard or trackpad. In another likely scenario both the screens may take the form of a device which has one screen used as the monitor and the other that functions as a keyboard or a large trackpad.