Can Apple Fix the iOS mess it has created?

Can Apple fix the mess it has created with iOS? Is the question of the moment. At first iOS used to be this great OS that helped you to get things done. It was sleek, fast, had a lot of features that were good at helping you get things done and the OS was steamlined. You could find the right thing in the right place with no hassle. But now iOS is not what it used to be. Now it has become a dish of trouble, with bugs, performance errors, stability issues and usability issues being the main ingredients.

It is even rumored that Apple is now putting on hold the many new features it has planned for iOS 12 just to correct the problems in iOS it has created. In the past, the few updates have all been about bug clearances and barely any new features and looks like this time around the next few updates might be the same. Well it is good and all that Apple wants to fix the bug issues because thast what some updates are supposed to do but what happens if such issues can’t be fixed?

Paying for a Premium product and stuck with the reality: 

Apple has never been a-just-there-brand and what I mean by this is that it is a premium brand offering you premium service. Well in theory at least. They say you pay for what you get but recently this has not been the case.

Take a look at 2017, for example, it was the year of root bugs in macOS, it’s fix seems to have broken file sharing for some, updating your macOS to 10.13.1 seemed like a logical thing to do, well wrong, it rolled the root patch back, remote access was broken with a HomeKit bug in iOS 11.2 and the list goes on and on, but you get the picture.

Apple seems to be getting more bugs and their fixes upgraded than actually giving out any new features with their upgrades.

Ok Ok, I’m not here to trash Apple, bugs do happen and as products and their software become more and more complex there is a huge possibility of bugs coming up. In today’s fast paced world in order to keep up or set the pace as for other companies, upgrades, new features and software needs to come out and it often does so in a rushed up manner and this is bound to lead to bugs and their necessary fixes.

Four areas that iOS seems to be falling back on: 

While Apple does offer you the best in tech when it comes to it, it still lacks in certain areas. While these areas may seem to be a small problem for some, for others it is a deal breaker. With frame drops and stuttering found in new hardware, apple seems to be missing out on performance standards.

Coming back to the bugs in iOS, you find them and then get it fixed until a new bug comes in its place or the fix itself gives you a new bug. Then stability, it is not the worst that is out there but for a high end product, we were certainly expecting a bit more and lastly, usability, is this really a thing now?

Apple is Ready to Fight Google Chromebooks with Cheaper iPads

Apple set to release cheaper iPads to counter the rise of Chromebooks

Apple has seen the reversal of the fortune with the rapid decline in the sales of the iPads and Mac laptops is last few years. In 2013 these reigned supreme in the schools in US by getting over the dominance of the Windows devices but in 2018 Apple iPads had simply lost its touch. Google Chromebook has made massive inroads in the US classrooms by becoming first choice for the students and Microsoft is also right behind it. Now Chromebook amounts for 60 percent of the devices sold in the US schools while iPads sales are steeply declining for three straight years. But Apple is gearing to bring back the challenge to the Chromebook by bringing a new lineup of cheaper iPads.

A low cost budget iPad is set to launch soon

This Tuesday Apple will be organizing a event focused on the special education which aims towards bringing "new creative ideas for the teachers and students". Industry wide rumors are hinting towards the launch of a low cost iPad at this event costing just about $259. The best thing about this budget iPad is that it will come with the support for a stylus. Apple Pencil support is available for the higher end iPad Pro versions which helps in boosting the productivity to the next level. Some rumors have even suggested that Apple might also release the cheaper budget version of the Macbook but doesn't happen to be the case.

It is worth noting that Apple has recently updated its main education website which 17 different devices pictures. Out of these 16 happened to be iPads and jus one Macbook. Furthermore a recent ad carried out by the Apple has asked the users boldly "What is a computer?" which indirectly hinted that the iPad will be the future of the computer in upcoming days. It is worth pointing out that Apple hasn’t had a golden run when it comes making a firm ground in the education segment. It got fined for $4.2 million in Los Angeles 2015 when it failed to provide iPads to the school kids with its lackluster $1 billion program.

Bringing the best of iOS to the students 

Apple is a quick learner and has worked towards improving the functionality and features of the iOS and in turn iPad in order to lure the students. In the iOS version 9.3 Apple brought the multi-user support on the iPads and Apple even did away with the notorious Apple ID requirement in order to use the iPads. Thirdly Apple has even worked towards bringing better management tools for the iPads. All of these features were aimed towards grabbing the interest of the students and educator and push the sales of the iPads just like earlier days but rise in the iPads pricing has become a detrimental feature. A low cost budget iPad will be a masterstroke from Apple to regain the lost ground and bring a stiff challenge to the Google’s Chromebook.

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.