iPhone SE: Probably the most boring iPhone ever released

This is not actually a surprising move. It has been predicted that Apple would come out with a 4-inch iPhone this year, although details on the specifications on the device is as usual shrouded. They have been many rumours though as with every iPhone but I would have to say this is the least exciting iPhone I have ever experienced.  Here is the iPhone SE

No your eyes are not deceiving you, and I’m also not trying to trick you. This is the new iPhone SE. Yes it looks exactly like the 5/5S, except if you’re using the latest colour addition, the Rose gold and the writings SE on the back.

Words to describe the SE: Safe, boring. One word to describe Apple: Lazy? Some have argued that this is an excellent strategic business move by Apple, they can save on R&D cost while clearing their old stocks. I would still say that they are a lazy bump. Why you asked? Here’s a picture of a custom iPhone 5/5S housing that can be found in certain shops in our country. The name of the shop is ChamoGadget, do pay them a visit if you need to repair your iPhones/iPads and they also provide custom housing replacements.

Yes, third party manufacturers have come out with iPhone 6 Mini housing for the 5/5S. If they can, don’t tell me Apple can’t. At least in terms of design you’ll be getting something different, albeit without needing too much inspiration but still you get something new.

Enough of me ranting on the design, lets talk specs! As this is considered an upgrade of the 5S, that will be the iPhone that I will be comparing it with. Internally the iPhone SE is actually an iPhone 6S embedded into the body of a 5/5S. Yes, you’ll be getting the same high-end latest processor by Apple (A9) with 2GB of RAM (versus 1GB in the 5S) alongside their 12MP iSight camera as well but that is where the similarity ends. The battery in the  SE is also slightly bigger than the one found in the 5S, 1642mAh vs 1560mAh. 

The screen still maintains the same resolution and the Touch ID is still the same. Colours are the same except for the new Rose Gold.

Overall a solid 4-inch smartphone that has some serious processing power and an excellent camera but the thing that still would not make me recommend the phone to someone would be the price. 

Even though Apple opted to use an older design with same display, mostly same components the price can be considered as closing to the high-end market.

For the 16GB model, you’ll have to fork out  RM1,949  while the 64GB (which you should get this one over 16GB if you are really intent in getting one) will cost you RM2,449. Oh and note that there is not 32GB option, cause well Apple want you to buy the more expensive and higher profit margin 64GB. More expensive than some other flagship smartphones (Huawei P9, Huawei Mate 8) and only slightly cheaper than the current best smartphone in the world, the Galaxy S7. 

For me, it’s just not worth it. At that price you could be getting the highest variant of the Xiaomi Mi 5 for example that should deliver the same processing power. But the choice is still in your hands, it’s a controversial issue but I personally would not recommend this even though it’s “the world’s most powerful 4-inch smartphone” as quoted by Apple. 

Maybe if one day they decide to drop the price a little bit more.

Source: Apple Malaysia, Digital Trends

MORE EVIDENCE OF DUAL-LENSE: iPhone 7 Plus

This rumour has been circulating long enough, even from last year. But now it seems to be  even more plausible that it's going to happen.

Apple has always been increasing the quality of their camera so it comes as no surprise that they are trying this method as well (first attempted by other Android manufacturers such as HTC and Honor). With dual-lens, it is said to be able to deliver DSLR quality photos.

To further add credits to the rumour is a report from the famous KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who is known to be accurate in his prediction regarding iPhones.

Though he added that this technology would only be on the iPhone 7 Plus only and not all of the 7 Plus too, apparently 30% of 7 Plus would get it while the remaining will be equipped with the standard iSight Camera.

Focusing on the camera, one of the lense is equipped with an Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) for photos/videos that are more stable and with a wide field of view while the second lens comes with telephoto technology and a narrower field of view. These technologies is believed to be available to Apple with their acquisition of LinX, a company known with innovative camera technologies.

Apart from that, DigiTimes reported on the company Largan Technology that, along with a few Chinese and Japanese companies, sent in samples of dual-lens camera for Apple to test.

Source: BGR, BGRIN,

World's Most Valuable Company: Alphabet

This is the time of year where financial reports are out. And this time there’s an interesting coup. Apple, the famous smartphone, Macbooks and iPod maker (if you weren’t sure which one), is no longer the most valuable company in the world.

That title now belongs to their close-rival Alphabet (the newly established parent company of Google).

Their net worth was around $558 billion compared to Apple’s $534 billion.

They also announced that they earned $21.3 in revenue for Q4 of last year, beating Wall Street’s expectations.

It’s no surprise that the majority of their revenue comes from Google, but a point to be made is that 90% of it is from ads (no surprise perhaps as what they’re offering is similar to freemium, where you get the service free but you have to deal with ads).

On top of that, the CEO, Sundar Pichai also stated that Gmail now has a billion users. To put it into perspective, it’s 1 in 7 people.

For more info, you can refer to the original article on Android Headlines.

Apple's new upgraded phones, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S Plus

 Hye guys! Sorry for that this post took something. I've actually been quite busy since I've just finished my first week at work! Yay! But I'll be making efforts to put in new contents as soon as possible. I'm going to post a post on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus (eventhough it has been sold in certain countries it still hasn't reached Malaysia so maybe I'm still early) to those who might need information on these new models by Apple as pre-orders will open next week in Malaysia. Enjoy!

As expected the Apple Event went ahead at 1a.m. Malaysian time (which basically means no sleep for us in Malaysia who were watching it live) So what did Apple released this time around with their new motto

 "The only thing that's changed is everything".

Not surprising as most of us know that this is the 'S' year which means basically all of last year's models will receive internal upgrades rather than external (no complaining if it's deemed significant enough and if you happen to like the external design). So that morning Apple launced the iPhone 6S to replace the iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6S Plus to replace the iPhone 6 Plus. An addition to the now standard 3 colours is another fourth option that would certainly be a favourite among the ladies which is the ROSE GOLD colour.

Rumours circulated saying that Apple will be incorporating their Force Touch technology into their iPhone. While that actually happened, Apple decides to give it another name which is 3D Touch (same function). A new technology that Apple first introduced in the Apple Watch that was then placed in the new Macbook Air, it introduced a new method of navigating by sensing the difference between a touch and a press. While pressing an icon, a pop-menu will appear listing down all features actions. For example, pressing the camera app icon would bring up a list of action choices such as 'Take a Selfie', 'Record a video', 'Record a slo-mo' and 'Take a photo'. Other applications that has implemented this as well are Mail, Maps, MEssages, Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox and Wechat (many more to come).

Before this there were many bend issues with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus where apparently you could bent your iPhone 6 Plus with your hands if you applied enough force. To overcome this problem Apple this time used Series 7000 Aluminium  for the construction of the new iPhones (similar material found in the Apple Watch Sport) that is said to be stronger and could handle higher pressure. Unbox therapy has already done a stress test on the new aliminium chassis for the new iPhones, you can watch the video here.

In terms of screen size the iPhone 6S remains at 4.7-inch while the 6S Plus also remains at 5.5-inch. Both displays are ionized strengthened.

Moving onto the internal components, the iPhone 6S/Plus has a new A9 processor that is said to be built by Samsung and TSMC. The 64-bit A9 70% more power and 90% more graphics performance compared to the A8. The new co-processor M9 was also introduced and now records live health, fitness, movement informations.

Touch ID has also been upgraded to the second generation which is supposed to be twice faster,

The most ineresting part that I feel most of you guys are waiting for is that the camera has finally been upgraded! The previou camera was excellent but lately many competitors have stepped up their games and released cameras as good as or even better than the iPhones. Samsung with their S6/Edge and Note 5 which are better than iPhones' camera (tested by PhoneArena ) and LG G4 that is on par with the 6/Plus. And we still haven't taken into account Sony's latest improved lenses on the Xperia Z5 that uses Sony Exmor technology. So it's high time that Apple upgraded its camera. DxOMark has tested the Xperia Z5's camera and the result may surprise you. Here's the link.

After almost 4 years of using their iSight 8MP camera, Apple now introduced their new 12MP iSight camera. They said that they would only increase megapixel counts when they didn't have to compromise on the quality of the pictures taken. One of the advantages of this new camera is that it can now capture 50% more pixel, has a faster autofocus and best of all better pictures. (See example of photos below)

Photos meanwhile comes alive with the new Live Photo function that takes a photo a second before and after the shutter camera is pressed. It would also be sort of a short video to remake the memory of the time the photo was taken as it would record sounds as well. You can turn this feature on or off by pressing the button on the top of the camera app. After that you just take a Live Photo as you would take a normal one.

The new camera has the ability to now capture Panoramas as big as 63MP. It's also capable of recording 4K video (eventhough you can't watch it on your phone)! The front camera also received a boost to now a 5MP Facetime HD for brighter and more beautiful selfies. If the rear camera has the True Tone flash, the front camera now uses the screen as a flash. 'Retina Flash' mimics the True Tone Flash by increasing the brightness of the display by 3x the standard.

Choices of storage for the new iPhones this time around is 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. In my opinion 16GB is not enough now as resolutions of videos keeps on increasing, applications requiring more MBs, you'll quickly find yourself needing more space.

The Wi-fi connectivity on the phone has been upgraded to be twice faster while there is now support for LTE Advance as well.

iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will ship with the new iOS 9. For more information about it, do visit this link. The expected date is on the 16 September.

Apple also surprisingly launced an Android app to entice android users to migrate which is the Move to iOS app. 

The new iPhones will be open for pre-orders in the US and the first batch of countries by September 12 and worldwide sales would be on 25 September (Singapore is among the first, Malaysia will definitely be left out)

Souce: Apple.com


GALLERY

Photos taken with the iSight 12MP/iPhone 6S/Plus

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