Some iPhone 6 Plus Owners Accidentally Bending Their iPhones in Pockets

As highlighted in a few reports shared in the MacRumors forums, a small but growing number of iPhone 6 Plus owners have reportedly bent their phones after carrying the devices in their pockets just days after launch. In one instance, a new iPhone 6 Plus was bent during a day of dancing, dining, and driving to a wedding.




Photo by hanzoh

Yesterday, I left at 10am with the iPhone in my left FRONT pocket of my suit pants. I drove 4 hours to a wedding, which also involved a lot of sitting during dinner etc but also 2-3 hours of dancing. I left at 2am and went to bed, driving home 4 hours back.



So in total, the 6 Plus was about 18 hours in my pocket while sitting mostly.



As I lay it on the coffee table and sat down on the couch to relax from the drive (yes, sitting again ), I saw the reflection of the window in the iPhones slightly distorted.

This potential for bending is of course not unique to the iPhone 6 Plus, with reports of bent iPhone 5 and 5s handsets surfacing in the past few years. As iPhones get thinner and larger, however, storage of the handset in a pocket becomes riskier. Unlike smaller phones that can slide out of the way, pressure points from sitting or bending now have greater potential to cause the longer iPhone to flex in a way that will damage the device.




Photo by DevinPitcher


To prevent bending, iPhone 6 Plus owners may want to remove their iPhones from their pockets before sitting or bending. If a pocket is unavoidable, then customers may want to place their device in a roomier pocket that allows the device to slide out the way. A rigid case may also provide protection from flexing or bending, as well damage from dropping the device.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:01PM, September 23

Philips Unveils Lightning Cable-Equipped Fidelio M2L Headphones

Apple recently updated it Made for iPhone (MFi) program with a new set of specifications that allow for the transmission of audio through Apple's Lightning cable port instead of the traditional 3.5-mm headphone jack. As spotted by Pocket-Lint , one of the first manufacturers to produce this new category of Lightning cable-equipped headphones is Philips, which is preparing its Fidelio M2L headphones for launch later this year.

Pascal van Laer, headphones business leader, WOOX Innovations says: "We’re excited to launch the Philips Fidelio M2L, our first headphone that has a direct digital connection to your iOS device. This means we can deliver an incredible audio experience today, and also opens up exciting opportunities for innovation for the future."

The Fidelio M2Ls connect to an iPhone or iPad via a Lightning port and will support 24-bit audio using an internal DAC and amplifier built into the headphone unit. The closed headphones also feature two 40-mm high magnetic intensity neodymium speaker drivers and leather memory foam ear pads.



The Philips Fidelio M2L headphones will be available starting in December. They will debut in Western Europe and North America with a suggested retail price of €250/$320.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:01PM, September 10

Mac Pro Ship Times Improve to 24 Hours as Some Retail Stores Begin Carrying Stock [Mac Blog]

Nearly six months post launch, base configurations of the new Mac Pro are now available to ship within 24 hours from Apple's online store for its North American and Asia Pacific regions. Base models in other countries are still listed at 3-5 business days, but those should also move to 24 hours soon. Custom-configured models are listed as available to ship in 1 -2 weeks in most countries.





In addition to orders for shipment, base Mac Pro systems are now also available for same-day Personal Pickup in select U.S. Apple retail stores.





Apple's latest Mac Pro model is assembled in the U.S. at an Austin, Texas facility run by Flextronics. Tim Cook and Eddy Cue recently visited the factory, which has been receiving praise for bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. The plant is approximately a mile away from Apple's expanding Northwest Austin campus that has added more than 700 workers with the recent first expansion phase and eventually will add 3,600 employees to the previous 3,100 employee campus by the end of 2021.



Since the Mac Pro debuted at the end of 2013, Apple has been quiet on the hardware front in 2014, pushing out a small upgrade to the MacBook Air and a new 8 GB iPhone 5c for some markets. Apple is rumored to be working on a Retina MacBook Air and new iMac models, perhaps including a more affordable iMac that will address growth in foreign markets.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:01PM, June 11

Pioneer Talks CarPlay: Working with Apple, Pricing, and the Future

Following last month's formal introduction of Apple's CarPlay system for integrating iPhones with in-dash vehicle systems, there were some questions about whether the feature would be able to make its way to aftermarket products or if it would be limited to auto manufacturers putting it into brand-new vehicles. That question was answered earlier this month, with both Alpine and Pioneer announcing their plans to launch CarPlay-compatible systems.



Pioneer appears to be in the best position to move quickly with CarPlay, as its latest NEX systems already include CarPlay-compatible hardware, which will be enabled with a firmware update expected in early summer. In contrast, Alpine will not be launching its CarPlay support until the fall as part of new product debuts.



MacRumors recently spoke with Ted Cardenas, marketing vice president in Pioneer's car electronics division, and he shared a bit of perspective about CarPlay and its development. Far from being taken by surprise by Apple's CarPlay announcement last month, Cardenas notes that Apple signaled to Pioneer that there would be coming changes to in-car connectivity even prior to last year's Worldwide Developers Conference, where Apple first showed what was then known as iOS in the Car as part of its iOS 7 preview.





According to Cardenas, development picked up in earnest in July of last year, with Apple putting together a dedicated team to help car manufacturers and aftermarket electronics companies build out their CarPlay support. Unsurprisingly, Apple took a fairly hands-on role in the process, sharing specifications and other information to assist Pioneer with its work.



Cardenas notes that Pioneer is "very excited" to be at the forefront of CarPlay, working with Apple to deliver solutions to consumers so that they don't need to wait to purchase a new car in order to experience the feature. He also points out that Pioneer has a particularly vested interest in getting CarPlay implementation right, as it may be one of the major factors influencing what brand and model of in-dash system to purchase, whereas CarPlay performance will undoubtedly be a much lower priority for customers looking to purchase an entirely new vehicle.



In addressing the entry cost for aftermarket CarPlay support, Cardenas acknowledges that the current $700-$1400 range for Pioneer's NEX series is higher than many consumers would like to see. But CarPlay requires robust technology, and the multi-core processors, significant RAM and onboard storage, and touchscreens needed in NEX systems for the feature all contribute to driving costs up. Pioneer is certainly looking to bring down that entry price for CarPlay-compatible systems and drive further expansion of the technology, but the company understandably won't have anything to announce on that front until after the CarPlay firmware update is delivered to the first wave of Pioneer products.




Pioneer's initial U.S. lineup of CarPlay-compatible NEX systems


Pioneer has a long history in consumer electronics and vehicle electronics in particular, and the company has long sought to embrace new technologies to enhance the customer experience. To that end, Pioneer was one of the first companies to make a significant effort into smartphone-car integration with its AppRadio system launched in 2011.



The firm is also supporting the MirrorLink consortium that is offering similar integration as CarPlay for non-Apple smartphones. Even with that support, Cardenas believes that CarPlay support will be very popular with consumers, given Apple's place in the market and users' desire for simplicity and seamless integration.



MacRumors also asked Cardenas about any potential plans to bring Wi-Fi support for CarPlay to Pioneer's products, but he had nothing further to share on the topic given than none of Pioneer's current NEX models offer Wi-Fi support. Volvo had initially reported that Wi-Fi support for CarPlay would be "coming in the near future", but the company quickly removed that statement from its press release and Apple has been silent about any plans to augment CarPlay with wireless connectivity to eliminate the need to directly connect the user's iPhone to the car via a cable.



On its CarPlay page, Apple notes that the feature is coming to specific models from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo this year, although Honda has yet to make any announcement about its plans. Apple also lists Alpine and Pioneer as on board for aftermarket support, and there may yet be more announcements coming.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:01PM, April 24

The best Android phone in the world gets even better this week

In a head-to-head battle against Samsung's Galaxy S4 late last year, we declared the HTC One the victor and said that it was the best Android phone in the world at that time. In terms of handsets that are widely available to smartphone users across the globe, that may still be the case. And in the U.S., the best Android phone in the world is about to get even better as all four major U.S. wireless carriers get ready to release the long-awaited KitKat update for the HTC One.



Continue reading...

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Posted in 2014 at 03:01PM, January 27