Top iOS news of the week
Apple unveils new iPhones and watch
The new iPhones were unveiled this week, something you’ve heard about unless you were on another planet. The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are solid upgrades over the previous models, although not revolutionary.
The Apple Watch also announced this week is generating a range of reactions across the web. Some find it a good effort, while others find nothing new compared to existing smartwatches already on the market. The Apple Watch will not go on sale until next year.
ZDNet and CNET have all of the details of the new iPhones and Apple Watch.
iPhone pre-orders break records according to Apple and AT&T
Apple always gets good pre-orders for new iPhones, and the new ones are no exceptions. The company won’t give numbers, but has stated that the new iPhones have generated record overnight orders. Some estimate that could be as many as nine million units.
AT&T is stating that the carrier has experienced a larger number of iPhone orders than in either of the past two years. Like Apple, it didn’t offer actual sales numbers.
Reports on the web indicate that the number of pre-orders is primarily due to the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, with Apple and carriers reporting inventories of the larger phone being depleted. Retailers are reporting deliveries in October for the Plus, while the smaller iPhone 6 is still readily available.
Source: Re/code
Next version of iOS to be available September 17
The new iOS 8 will be running the new iPhones, and will be available for download to existing iPad and iPhone models on September 17. The new OS will have a plethora of new features, as demonstrated by beta versions that have been available for a while.
The iOS 8 version will enable the new Apple Pay (NFC) features on the new iPhone 6 models. It will also enable the Continuity feature that will link iOS devices to each other and to OS X.
Source: Techradar
Specs of the new iPhones
More Apple Coverage
Those trying to decide which new iPhone to buy should compare the specs of the two models. ZDNet has published the full details of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to make the decision easier.
The iPhone 6 specs are presented alongside those for current iPhone models to demonstrate how the new models compare to the older ones.
Source: ZDNet (Adrian Kingsley-Hughes)
Apple Pay to hit the mobile payment world with new iPhone
At the iPhone launch event this week, the company introduced its mobile payment system coming on the new iPhones. Apple Pay will use embedded NFC technology on the new phones to enable paying for goods and services by waving the iPhone in front of a terminal in shops.
The company has already inked agreements with major financial instritutions to get Apple Pay off the ground quickly. Apple Pay may give both eBay and PayPal some stiff competition given Apple’s clout.
Source: ZDNet (Larry Dignan)
Top Android keyboard SwiftKey to hit iOS with iOS 8 release
SwiftKey is a top keyboard app for Android and with the admittance of third-party keyboards on iOS 8, iPhone and iPad owners will see what they’ve been missing. They won’t have to wait much longer as SwiftKey has announced it will be available in the Apple App Store as soon as iOS 8 is available on September 17.
The company is excited about coming to iOS, and has produced a nice video of it narrated by Stephen Fry.
Source: SwiftKey