Next-Generation iPhones Could Adopt 7000 Series Aluminum Used in Apple Watch Sport

Apple's next-generation iPhones could adopt 7000 Series aluminum used for the Apple Watch Sport, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News . The so-called "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus" would likely use Apple's custom Series 7000 aluminum alloy, which is designed to be 60% stronger than most aluminum, and one-third the density of stainless steel, while still maintaining a light weight.





Apple elaborated in more detail about the Series 7000 aluminum it used for the Apple Watch Sport on its website, noting that each casing is machined, polished and blasted with microscopic zirconia beads to achieve a consistent satin texture found on each Apple Watch. An additional anodized outer layer helps protect against scratches and corrosion, while the anodizing process also makes possible Space Gray and Space Black variants.

For Apple Watch Sport, we started with 7000 Series aluminum — the same used in competition bicycles. We altered it to create a new alloy that’s just as light, yet even more durable — it’s 60 percent stronger than most aluminum, and one-third the density of stainless steel. It has a bright, lustrous colour and a uniform structure free of defects and impurities. Each case is machined and polished, then blasted with microscopic zirconia beads to achieve a consistent, satin texture. A special anodizing process creates a hard, clear outer layer that helps protect against scratches and corrosion.

Economic Daily News has a mixed track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming plans, and the translated report does not offer many further details, so this rumor should be treated with a proverbial grain of salt. Nevertheless, it is common for Apple to introduce new features on one device before expanding to others. Force Touch, for example, was exclusive to the Apple Watch before making its way to MacBooks, and the technology is also rumored to be included in the next iPhone.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, April 16

Fitbit Adds Multi-Device Support and Extensive Bike-Tracking Analytics [iOS Blog]

Fitbit today announced a two-pronged update to its popular line of fitness trackers, adding support for in-depth bike-tracking on the Fitbit Surge and allowing users to easily switch between multiple Fitbit models with "Multi-Tracker Support."



The company says the added support will grant customers more ease-of-use in switching amongst Fitbit devices throughout the day, or week, allowing them to choose "the right tracker for any occasion." The update lets any one user pair up to six Fitbit trackers - the maximum amount of Fitbit variants on the market - to their Fitbit account.





After the initial pairing stage, Fitbit will automatically notice when a user switches trackers without needing to enter the Fitbit app. The company notes that as a user transitions amongst trackers throughout the day, for example wearing a "Fitbit One to work, Fitbit Surge for a run, or Tory Burch for Fitbit for a night on the town," the Fitbit app never pauses or hiccups in curating the usual array of steps and calories burnt as a single statistic across every device.



Also announced today is an update specifically to Fitbit Surge, using GPS and "other advanced sensors" to provide a comprehensive overview of various bike riding statistics, including: distance, duration, average speed, heart rate, and calories burned. Already the beefiest Fitbit, with a 7-day battery life and on-board GPS tracking sensors, the company hopes to broaden its fitness-friendly device with the new cycling-specific features.

“Our users are passionate about fitness and have consistently requested a way to track their outdoor cycling activity. We are delivering this feature on Fitbit Surge for active consumers looking to track and better understand performance during rides, in addition to their other workouts,” said Tim Roberts, VP of Interactive, Fitbit. “Our goal is to provide users with the tools it takes to track their exercise and reward them for doing the activities they love to do most – like biking and running.”

Fitbit noted that while the Multi-Tracker Support is slated to hit later this week, the bike-tracking features won't roll out in North America until sometime in April, "with global availability coming soon." The nebulous April launch window for the cycling-focused update sees the company beefing up the features of the Fitbit Surge, the tracker most in direct competition with the Apple Watch, which at $249 is still $100 cheaper than the 38mm Apple Watch Sport.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, March 23

Apple’s secret plan to maximize Apple Watch battery life

The New York Times is reporting that Apple has a previously undisclosed plan to maximize battery life on the Apple Watch as much as possible.

According to the report, Apple's watch team "developed a yet-to-be-announced feature called Power Reserve." As the name implies, the Apple Watch in Power Reserve mode will run on low energy and will only display the time. Which is to say, all of the device's other functions such as notifications and activity monitoring will presumably go into a sleep mode in an effort to conserve juice.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, March 02

Sprint and T-Mobile have no future unless the FCC changes its approach to spectrum auctions

One of the more pernicious ideas that's popped up in recent years is that spectrum auctions' main goal should be to maximize revenue for the government, which inevitably means selling off our airwaves to whoever shells out the most cash. This gets it completely backward, however: The point of spectrum auctions should be to maximize the public good.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, February 21

BOOM: This is our best look yet at the Galaxy S6 (...and boy, does it look familiar)

Unless leaks and rumors from about a dozen different sources are all completely misguided, we now have a very good idea of what to expect from Samsung's next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6. By all accounts, this is the Samsung smartphone we've been waiting for — a gorgeous Samsung display and bleeding-edge internal components packed in a sleek housing made of premium materials.

Yes, it basically looks like a blatant ripoff of the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 6, but that might not be such a bad thing. And besides, Apple's iPhone designs haven't always been original either.

Now, following a long string of earlier leaks, a new series of images may give us our best look yet at Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, February 13

I can’t decide whether Elon Musk is a genius or delusional

To be fair, there's no doubt that Elon Musk is a genius. Tesla and SpaceX are two of the most exciting companies on the planet and they're doing incredibly important and groundbreaking work in the fields of electric cars and space exploration, respectively. There's no way either of those companies would have come as far as they have without Musk pushing his engineers to their limits -- one anonymous SpaceX engineer, for instance, says Musk has a "reality distortion field" on par with Steve Jobs.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, February 12

The first disappointing rumor we’ve heard about the iPhone 6s

If you were hoping that Apple would finally add more megapixel power to its smartphone cameras with the iPhone 6s, you may be out of luck. G for Games points us to a new report in Taipei Times that claims the upcoming iPhone 6s will still only feature an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, even though some fans may have been hoping for a more pixel-packed 13-megapixel module.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, February 09

The Pirate Bay is officially back up

After a month of teasing its return, The Pirate Bay team on Saturday finally brought back online the immensely popular torrent download service, almost a day before the planned February 1st relaunch, and users can now enjoy a fully functional website.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, February 01

The 9 most important things we learned from Apple’s record-crushing quarterly report

Apple reported results from its fiscal first quarter on Tuesday night and in case you somehow missed it, they were incredible. As we noted in our coverage immediately following the report, Apple's December quarter was the most profitable quarter any company has ever posted. What's even more incredible, perhaps, is that its feat is thanks largely to just two devices — the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus — as pent-up demand for larger iPhones sent sales soaring.

People are still digging through Apple's filings for interesting tidbits, but all of the major takeaways from Apple's fiscal first-quarter earnings are now out in the open.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, January 28

Samsung has an amazing smartphone for ‘The Avengers’ sequel… too bad it’s not actually functional

It’s no secret anymore that you’ll see plenty of Samsung product placements in the upcoming The Avengers: Age of Ultron movie this summer, as the South Korean company made that abundantly clear not too long ago when it launched an exclusive extended trailer version of the first official trailer for the movie. But, in addition to existing Samsung devices you might see in the movie, the company has come up with other interesting never-before-seen gadgets that will appear in the movie. Unfortunately, as Business Insider reports, these special Samsung toys aren’t real, and you shouldn’t expect to see them in stores too soon.

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Posted in 2015 at 02:30PM, January 08