iPad Air 2 Rumored to Launch in October, Updated Retina iPad Mini May Come Later

Apple has plans to introduce the next-generation iPad Air in October, according to Taiwan's Commercial Times [Google Translate]. The site says the updated tablet will enter production in September, shipping next month.



Commercial Times also suggests that the next-generation Retina iPad mini might not launch alongside the iPad Air, coming instead in early 2015, with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro to follow in the second quarter of 2015.




Physical mockup of the second-generation iPad Air


While the rumor suggesting the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be coming in the second quarter of 2015 is in line with previous rumors, there has been no prior indication that second-generation iPad Air and the next-generation Retina iPad mini will see separate launch timelines.



Previous rumors have indicated that both the Retina iPad mini and the iPad Air 2 will be introduced simultaneously at an event in October. Recently, a rumor suggested the two tablets could be introduced at an October 21 media event, but that prediction was quickly shot down by The Loop's Jim Dalrymple. Dalrymple did not, however, rule out an event at another date in October, so an October unveil of the two tablets remains likely. According to recent report from Bloomberg , the iPad Air 2 is in production and the Retina iPad mini 2 is entering production soon.



Both the next-generation iPad Air and Retina iPad mini are expected to gain updated A8 processors, camera improvements, and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor first introduced with the iPhone 5s. Apple's iPad Air 2 may also gain an anti-reflective screen coating and it may also ship in gold, silver, and space gray, much like the iPhone.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:38PM, September 22

Mysterious feature teased for rumored Retina MacBook Air

The MacBook Air family is going to get a smaller, slimmer and significantly improved family member at some point in the future, and a new report from Jack March reveals that Apple’s upcoming 12-inch Retina MacBook Air will offer users a complete redesign.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:15PM, September 22

iOS 8 Users Seeing Issues With Battery Drain, Slow Wi-Fi

Released last week, iOS 8 is Apple's latest operating system update, bringing several new features like Continuity, third-party keyboards, Notification Center Widgets, and more. As with any new iOS update, users have been reporting several bugs in the operating system, with some of the more prevalent complaints pointing towards slow Wi-Fi speeds and problems with battery life.



As outlined by PCMag , iOS 8 users on the Apple support forums have been complaining about Wi-Fi problems in a thread that now spans multiple pages, an issue that was confirmed by the site's own testing. It appears, based on complaints, that multiple devices may be affected by a Wi-Fi bug, including the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPad Air, the Retina iPad mini, and more.

I also got an iPhone 6 on Friday, and noticed some sluggishness when connected to my home Wi-Fi network in New York. Twitter and Instagram photos took forever to appear, and opening a news story in Safari was hanging. I did a speed test using the Ookla app and got an abysmal 0.01 Mbps download and 1.05 Mbps upload. Minutes later, another test jumped up to 4.75 Mbps download and 0.24 upload, but a third test was again at 0.02 Mbps download and 0.76 upload.

Some users reportedly had luck fixing the problem by disabling Wi-Fi Networking under Privacy --> Location Services --> System Services.



Significant battery drain appears to be another complaint that's popping up frequently on the Apple Support forums, with users complaining of their batteries draining much faster than usual. According to one user, his battery drained from 100 percent to zero in four hours with minimal usage, a complaint echoed by several other users.



While those seem to be some of the more prominent problems on the Apple forums, iOS 8 users are running into plenty of other bugs and issues with the software. On our own MacRumors forums, there's an eleven page thread cataloguing complaints, which range from app crashes to the same battery issues Apple forum members are seeing, and a second thread where people are posting a list of bugs. There's also a thread on people experiencing excessive battery drain and a thread on people seeing slow Wi-Fi speeds.



Apple already has plans for an iOS 8 update that's coming in the near future, bringing support for Apple Pay and several features that are currently missing from the software, including SMS Relay. The update may also be used to fix some of the bugs that users are experiencing.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:59PM, September 22

'iPod Father' Tony Fadell Comments on Discontinuation of iPod Classic [iOS Blog]

Tony Fadell, who formerly worked at Apple and is widely known as the "father" of the iPod, today commented on the recent discontinuation of the iPod Classic in an interview with Fast Company , saying that he's "sad to see it go."

"The iPod's been a huge part of my life for the last decade. The team that worked on the iPod poured literally everything into making it what it was." Eighteen months after launch, the iPod owned the portable media player category, and for the next decade, it continued to do so. "Products just don't come around like that often," laments Fadell. "The iPod was one-in-a-million."

Though he's sad to see the end of the iPod, Fadell notes that the product was "born to die," with employees speculating in 2003 or 2004 what would kill the device. "Even back then, at Apple," says Fadell, "we knew it was streaming. We called it the 'celestial jukebox in the sky.' And we have that now: music in the cloud."





The final iPod classic was introduced in September of 2009, and rumors of a discontinuation of the product circulated for years before Apple retired the device in September of 2014. Following the announcements for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and the Apple Watch on September 9, Apple removed the iPod classic from its online store.



Apple's iPod sales have been dwindling for the last several years, and in January, Tim Cook noted that the iPod was a "declining business" for Apple. As of Q3 2014, the iPod made up just one percent of Apple's total revenue, being dwarfed many times over by the iPhone and iPad, both of which have adopted the iPod's music playing capabilities.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:31PM, September 22

Don’t expect the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to win any battery life contests

Now that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are in the hands of millions of buyers, people are putting them through all sorts of experiences including accidental or intentional drop tests and detailed teardowns, but also battery life tests. In fact, Phone Arena has put both devices through its regular battery measurements that use “a custom web-script, designed to replicate the power consumption of typical real-life usage,” publishing its findings and updating its battery life smartphone rankings to accommodate the new arrivals.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:10PM, September 22

Apple Reportedly Planning to Shut Down Beats Music

Apple is planning to discontinue Beats Music, the streaming music service that it acquired as part of an acquisition of Beats Electronics back in May. According to TechCrunch , multiple sources that include "several prominent employees at Apple and Beats" have confirmed that Apple is shutting down the music service.

Many engineers from Beats Music have already been moved off the product and onto other projects at Apple, including iTunes. It's not clear when exactly Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre's music service will be shut down or what Apple will do with streaming, but every source with knowledge of the situation that we talked to agreed Apple plans to sunset the Beats Music brand.

Apple first acquired Beats Music in May, and at the time, announced plans to leave the music service untouched. There were no plans to integrate Beats Music into iTunes, with the company suggesting that it would remain as a standalone service.



Apple shutting down Beats Music is unusual news given the efforts that the company has gone to in order to promote it in recent weeks, adding it to the list of "Apps Made by Apple" and recommending the app to new iOS users.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:58PM, September 22

Apple Releases OS X Yosemite Mail Update for Developers and Public Beta Testers [Mac Blog]

Apple today released a new version of Mail for OS X Yosemite, fixing an issue that could prevent users from composing a message. The update is available to all developers with the Yosemite Developer Preview installed, as well as public beta testers.



The software can be downloaded through the software update function of the Mac App Store.





A new public beta version of Yosemite and Yosemite Developer Preview 8 were released last week, on Monday. The software is expected to continue on in its beta testing phase until late October, when it will be released to the public.



OS X Yosemite brings several new features to the operating system, including Continuity, which offers unprecedented integration between iOS and OS X. The operating system also includes a complete visual overhaul with a flatter iOS 7-style look.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:27PM, September 22