So we have listed some of what we want from Apple’s new flagship handset:

• The new model phone will be running ios9 – the latest operating system.
• Major upgrades to Siri’s ability to recognize your habits, and battery life to be improved.
• Sapphire glass would be a major step forward for the user who no longer has to worry about putting their keys and phone in the same pocket. This would also mean an end to air bubbles on your screen protector!
• We are expecting Apple to introduce ‘Force Touch’. This will detect how hard a user is pressing just like the new MacBook – interpreting touch into action.
• Improved Camera, a rival to DSLR, has been suggested, but most analysts are expecting a 12mp camera with 4k video. It will need plenty of memory for the footage.
• Other rumors include the movement of the touch id from the home button to the whole screen using several fingerprints at once.

Accessory manufacturers are not expecting many aesthetic changes and most iPhone 6 accessories should work.

If Apple do these I’ll trade to upgrade from my current phone – but we really need a bigger leap don’t we? Let us know what you think.

Images: 9TO5 Mac

Chances are, if you’re wearing a smartwatch by the end of this year, it’s going to be made by Apple care of its Apple Watch or powered by Google’s Android Wear platform.

There’s also a very good chance you know which one is right for you based on the phone you already own. Apple Watch works with iOS 8 and Android Wear works with, you guessed it, Android.
Apple Watch or Android wear?

1. Carplay is coming to more cars

Apple announced that every major car manufacturer has committed to launching Carplay in the future and there will be 40 cars shipping with it this year alone. With major updates expected and fierce competition from manufacturers and Android Auto, it’ll be an interesting race.

2. Your iPhone and Apple Watch is going to help a lot of people.

Apple is opening up it’s phones and watches to help move medical research forward. You’ll be able to share your activity with universities and researchers via apps and HealthKit. The data stays with them, not Apple and 5 apps have launched today. ResearchKit goes open source next month too.

3. We now have 12″ Gold Macbooks

Apple launches a redesigned 12″ Macbook today. With a smaller unibody design, processor, more storage and faster processor it’s a great upgrade. It will set you back around €1,499 though.

4. Say goodbye to regular USB ports

Apple are using USB Type-C for the Macbook. This port & cable delivers video, data and power all through one wire. Headphone jacks are thankfully still a thing however.

5. Say hello to USB extension ports & cables

If you’re planning on plugging anything into your Macbook, you’ll need an adaptor. A single USB adaptor will set you back around €20, if you want video/Thunderbolt at the same time, it’ll cost you an eyewatering estimated €79.

6. The Apple Watch was shown off again

With no new functionality announced bar being able to customise each watch-face and make calls from your wrist, the Apple Watch will still track your activity, give you glancable information and will try to reduce your reliance on your iPhone. It’ll also feature Apple Pay (yet to launch in Ireland).

7. We saw some of the apps you’ll be able to use

You’ll be able to grab an uber, view your Instagram feed, open your hotel door and more with an Apple Watch.

8. You can get your wrists on it from April 24th from around €349-399

The Apple Watch starts from $349 meaning we’ll see a €349-399 price in Ireland. If you’re looking for a 42mm watch, add an extra €50 to that. If you want to splurge, you’ll be able to pick up a gold Apple Watch Edition for a record breaking $17,000. Irish pricing and availability still hasn’t been announced.

9. You’ll be charging it every day

With an 18 hour battery life quoted by Apple, it’s betting on you getting 8 hours sleep a night. Apple promises “All Day Battery Life” which we’re looking forward to seeing in action. The Apple Watch charges via wireless charging, which magnetically attaches to the watch.

10. Apple TV got a price cut.

Arguably the best news from the event was that the Apple TV got a price cut. You’ll be able to pick one up from around €79.

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

OS X Yosemite: Price

Following in the footsteps of OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Apple have confirmed that Yosemite will also be completely free to download.

OS X Yosemite: Design

When Yosemite arrives on your Mac later this year, you’re going to notice a lot of interesting changes, including a brand-new look. This new look, which may remind you of iOS 7, will add a sleek, cool, and translucent look to your beloved Mac. Everything from the ‘Finder’ to the ‘Trash’ has been revamped, here we have picked out 3 app icons to compare.

Mavericks vs Yosemite: Finder

The happy little Finder icon just got a whole lot brighter, and ever smilier in OS X Yosemite.

Mavericks vs Yosemite: Trash

The Trash can has had a translucent make-over, doing away with the dull wire in favour of a white bin with a bit of colour inside.

Mavericks vs Yosemite: Preview

The ‘Preview’ icon has been simplified. Gone is the boy, replaced by a sea scene and a pebble beach. The magnifier also looks a bit more modern and detailed than it’s predecessor.

OS X Yosemite: Features

One of the most exciting developments in OS X Yosemite, is it’s seemingly flawless integration with Apple’s iOS 8, which will be available this Autumn on iPhone, iPad and even iPod Touch. Apple have made various references to ‘Continuity’, in many ways your Mac will become an extension of you iPhone. You will even be able to take calls on it.

Improvements in ‘Messages’ on Mac means you can now send and receive SMS messages, allowing you to keep on top of all of your conversations synced across your Apple devices. There are also improvements coming for ‘Notification Centre’, most importantly a ‘Today’ view. ‘Today’ is designed to give you a summary of the day’s upcoming events, reminders, and even birthdays.

Sneak-peek at Yosemites Notification Centre.

iCloud Drive is Apple’s answer to DropBox and SkyDrive. iCloud lives in your Finder and means that the documents you create on your Mac and iOS devices will be easily accessed on all of your devices.

iCloud Drive will integrate your devices on a whole new level.

‘Spotlight’ search has also been vastly improved, it now behaves more like a search engine by grabbing information from Wikipedia, Maps, movies, news, and more.The new ‘Spotlight’ even has currency and unit conversion tools, allowing users to make instant conversions like euros to pounds and feet to meters.

Because you can never know too much about potatoes!

And finally, you will be now be able to ‘AirDrop’ between your Mac and iOS!

OS X Yosemite: Missing Features

Although there are a whole bunch of new features to enjoy, there are some features that we would have loved to see from 10.10. Many of us expected to see ‘Siri’ for the Mac, Apple’s handy helper has made it’s way to iPad, but is yet to make it’s way onto the Mac. ‘Control Centre’ a feature that will remain exclusive to iOS 7, makes ‘System Preferences’ much more accessible even for a less experienced user, and would be a welcome addition to the new OS.

OS X Yosemite: Conclusion

Yosemite impressed us very much. With a funky new look and much better integration it is hard to fault this innovative new OS. Having devices that run both Yosemite and iOS 8 will be a must if you want to get the most from OS X 10.10.

Call in to your local smartspot to find out more about Yosemite, iOS 8, and upgrading your device.

OS X Yosemite: Requirements

MacBook Air (late 2008 or later)

MacBook (late 2008 aluminum or later)

MacBook Pro (mid 2007 or later)

iMac (mid 2007 or later)

Mac mini (early 2009 or later)

Mac Pro 9 (early 2008 or later)

iOS 8 Requirements

iPhone 4S

iPhone 5

iPhone 5C

iPhone 5S

iPod Touch 5th generation

iPad 2

iPad with Retina Display

iPad Air

iPad Mini

iPad Mini with Retina Display

Display and weight

The phones may be new but some features stayed the same. App developers for iOS won’t have to worry about the screen size because both still have a four-inch Retina Display just like the 4S and original 5. They retained the 1,136 x 640-pixel resolution for 326 ppi quality. Apple’s consistency in their displays is arguably why developers love to build iOS apps. For users, expect graphics to keep looking crisp and easy on the eyes.

GPU and memory

The C shares the same memory and GPU as the 5. So whether or not you were satisfied with the previous flagship handset, expect the same performance on the C. It’s the S that has beefed up its insides. For graphics, it’s powered by the quad-core PowerVR G6430. Although its memory is still just 1 GB like the C and 5, it’s now much faster because it’s DDR3. Coupled with the 64-bit A7, our experience with the 5S on iOS 7 and apps have been smooth and snappy.

64-bit processing

One tweak that developers will have to consider is optimizing their code to be 64-bit chip. Apple was proud to announce that their newest flagship will sport the A7 system-on-chip processor, which is a faster and stronger version of its previous A6. The new iOS 7 is also built with the new architecture, so if you want your apps to run as smoothly as iWork does, better recompile your code. It should be noddy work.

Brand new ecosystem

Along with the roll out of the new devices comes a new operating system from Apple – the iOS 7. As the manufacturer made a complete design overhaul it’s imperative for app developers to follow the pattern. Logos on the home screen must also have the same flat design. Colours must also match those of the neon colours of the iPhone 5C – pink, white, yellow, green, and blue.

Gamers and developers have another reason to rejoice because the 5S supports OpenGL ES 3.0. Now, 3D drawing is possible with the new phone. Complex shaders can now also be used for greater depth in apps and especially games. One way to check its effect is to move your Home or Standby screen in any direction. What you’re seeing is the new parallax effect applied by iOS 7 to the screen.

Final thoughts

So far, those are the most significant changes we’ve noticed with the new iPhones, especially for developers.
Now let us know what you think of the newest iDevices…

Article supplied by independent reviewers at: theeffect.net

I’m a technophile. I buy “Stuff For Men” magazine and salivate over the latest tech, most of which just has fancy glitzy features – the practicality, or lack of it, goes over my head.

But I still WANT!

Like many of us today, personal budgets limit us to differentiate want from need.

We simply can’t buy it all.

Frustrated with the constantly changing windows operating systems, more complex work arounds and the increasingly gargantuan processing power demands of running applications, not to mention tired of lugging an oversized 17” screen around in a laptop bag day after day, to work and from work. I needed portability, I demanded reliability and I was chasing speed!!

I started looking for something else, something that didn’t sound like next door’s hairdryer and that would last longer than 12 months without needing to be upgraded. I am conscious of the over zealous Apple fanboy/hipster attitude towards Apple products and and I don’t like hearing friends and family lambast Windows operating systems as Windows was all I knew, but I needed something else.

So, I bought an Ipad. (ipad 3, wifi only, 32gb)

As a working, self employed business owner I wasn’t going to use this just to play candy crush…..heavens forbid! I needed the ipad for everyday use in my store.

But how could I manage without Excel programs? “Cloud ON” App delivers excel sheets to my ipad with full functionality and ability to edit, filter and create! All achieved with added ease by connecting a €45 mini keyboard to the ipad…..this was now a mini laptop to me, but with speed, reliability and comfort.

Photos of stock are taken and uploaded directly to our online store, Facebook page etc, edited, cropped, brightened, perfected and ready for my customers without painstakingly waiting for windows to recognise file types, rotate photo’s and then pray internet explorer doesn’t require a new java/flash update.

I’ve handed the ipad to customers, allowing them to like our FB page or follow us on twitter from within the store when I have them directly infront of me.

I’ve sourced stock for customers with ease, without wasting their time waiting for IE to load pages and pictures.

I could go into a long and babbling store about individual app’s available … but safe to say, if you can think it … there’s an app for it.

The ipad has my entire customer network, stock control, files and records both personal and business all stored inside its sleek and inviting design.

There is no scary learning curve to it’s use … its instinctively there at your fingertips. Also, its probably worth remembering that the windows environment was originally used on Apple’s products – so its not as different as you maybe imagine.

My favourite personal usage apps?

Number one has to be Sky Go.

As an avid football fan I can watch any game televised literally anywhere.

Netflix, Youtube, all Irish TV stations by virtue of their “Player” Apps.

If outside a wifi area, I can tether the the 3g connection on my iphone to the ipad creating a personal hotspot, which means I now have internet access anywhere!

This may sound basic to the average technophile … but have any of you ever watched a Premier League game while sitting on Howth head on a summer’s evening?

I could go on and on about how the Ipad changed my life, well, made it a whole lot easier but honestly, like most things in life you will only appreciate it by trying it yourself.

It’s not just for fanboys, gadget freaks or victims of hipster pressure … it’s for everyone.