Apple today unveiled the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in the same event where the new iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4 were launched. And as expected, a lot of the rumors about these two phones turn out to be true especially in the case of them sporting that force touch feature that we saw in the new MacBook.

The feature which is called 3D touch on the iPhone works the same way as the Force touch feature on the MacBook in the sense that it recognizes when a user applies extra force to a tap and translates it to a certain command. It also uses a “Taptic engine” which provides real-time feedback to users so they know what type of action they are performing and what they can expect to see as a result of that action.

Specs-wise the new iPhones are almost identical to their non-S counterparts with the exception of some hardware and performance upgrade brought about by the new A9 chips with embedded M9 motion coprocessors, and the 12MP iSight camera at the back that is now capable of capturing 4K video at 30 frames per second.

The 5MP front camera also gets a new feature called the Retina Flash which uses the handset’s display as a true-tone flash. When taking a selfie, a special chip inside the phone raises the display’s brightness up to 3 times in order to simulate the effect of a flash resulting in a better image taken.

The new iPhones also get LTE Advanced and new MiMO antenna technology which boosts the device’s connectivity over Wi-Fi.

Apple is implementing the same pricing strategy it used with the non-S iPhones with the base iPhone 6S starting at $199 for the 16GB model on a two-year contract and goes up to $399 for the 128GB model. Pre-orders will start on September 12 and shipping will start on the 25^th of this month initially in select markets including US, UK, Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Germany and Japan.

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The iPhone lookalike Lenovo Sisley S90 just went official today through the company’s Chinese website, which controversially kind of looks like a page taken from the iPhone’s website.

The phone is built around a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with HD resolution and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset. It will have a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 306GPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage.

There’s going to be two SIM card slots, a 13MP+8MP camera combo, TDLTE support, NFC connectivity and a 2300mAh battery pack. The phone will be offered in four color options including pink, gold, silver and black for $330.

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Apple’s event last Tuesday was one of the most awaited days of the year for the company’s advocated and hard-core fans. The company’s September 9 event was the day it launched its long-awaited and long-rumoured iPhone 6 models.

The new iPhones have actually received mixed reception after its launch. On the positive side, there were a lot of people who were really excited for a larger iPhone that’s capable of competing with Android handsets in terms of screen real estate. However, there were also fans of the brand that felt that the new model has failed to innovate and didn’t really offer much in contrast to its predecessors.
But are the new iPhones just about bigger screens? We’ve listed some of the new things that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have that makes them better than their predecessors.
BETTER SCREENS
With the announcement of the new iPhone models, Apple is now able to stand toe-to-toe with its main competitors including Samsung’s Galaxy line and Google’s Nexus devices. But the two models don’t just have bigger screens, they also have better ones. 

For instance, even with the extra 0.7-inch screen real estate, the iPhone 6 still manages to maintain the same screen density of 326ppi. While the iPhone 6 Plus is able to push a 400ppi display density and bump to resolution to 1080p.
NEW CONNECTIVITY FEATURES
The new models are also sporting new connectivity features including Cat 4 LTE that delivers up to 150Mbps downlink speeds, support for VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) and Wi-Fi calling.
The Wi-Fi radio on the new iPhones has also been improved which now uses 802.11ac standard for three times faster transfer speeds than the previous 802.11n standard. NFC or Near Field Communications is also a long-awaited feature on the iPhone. Apple has also created a wireless payment system called Apple Pay to maximize this new feature.
IMPROVED CAMERA

The camera on the iPhones has also been improved. Although the sensor size remains the same at 8MP, they now have phase detection autofocus. The iPhone 6 Plus even has optical image stabilization to minimize motion blur in photos when the user has shaky hands.   BIGGER STORAGE
Storage options are also changing this year for the iPhone. The base model will still get 16GB of storage. However, Apple has decided to ditch the 32GB model and will be replaced by the 64GB version at the same price point. At the top of the food chain is a 128GB model for those with serious storage needs.
NEW CHIP
In terms of performance, the new handsets also have an updated chipset and processors. The new 64-bit A8 chip is built using a 20nm manufacturing process giving it 25% more processing power and improves GPU performance by as much as 50%.
The chip is also 13% smaller in size than its A7 predecessor. The new chip also works hand in hand with the new iSight camera by providing a powerful image processor when taking photos.
NEW COPROCESSOR
Lastly, the M7 co-processor will be replaced by (you’ve guessed it) a M8 coprocessor. Apart from the usual sensors utilized by the M7 coprocessor from the iPhone 5S, the new iPhones will pack a barometer that helps the phone monitor changes in elevation by measuring air pressure changes.

Moreover, the new M8 will be able to distinguish between sports such as cycling and running and will support third-party integration.
So with all these things considered, do you think the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus worth the buy? Do tell us by leaving a comment below.
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Apple’s annual developer conference may not have a lot of announcements in terms of physical products but it was jam-packed with huge news when it comes to software – after all, it’s still a developer conference.

The first big announcements was Apple’s HomeKit – a communication standard for connecting iOS devices to various home appliances. The wireless protocol is designed to securely connect devices with an iOS-powered device or tablet. At the moment, the protocol has no automation layer yet but according to Apple there are plans to bring this feature into the kit in the future.

But the biggest announcement of the day would definitely be the unveiling of Swift- Apple’s new programming language that promises to deliver apps that run faster and smoother than those made from its predecessor – Objective C.

The new programming language can work alongside Objective-C and C codes in the same app so the transition from the previous codes to Swift won’t be so sudden. For devs who want to learn more about Swift, Apple has published a 500-page guide in its iBook Store, which is already available for download.

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The other major announcement from Apple’s WWDC was of course the company’s mobile operating system – iOS 8. In contrast to last year’s release which featured significant cosmetic changes, iOS 8 focuses on improving the platforms functionality and features.

To kick things off, iOS 8 now uses the power of the cloud in order to help users save some space on their devices without compromising on image quality and format. With the iCloud Photo Library, users will be able to get 5GB worth of storage for their photos and allows them to search and view the images from other devices.

The camera has also been improved with built-in editing features for adjusting exposure, brightness and contrast. Apple has also added built-in photo filters on the camera app and has allowed app developers to make their own filters for the photos app. The camera app can now capture time-lapse videos.

Interactive notification is also a good addition into the mobile operating system. With this feature, users will be able to act on a notification without leaving the current app they are using.  For instance, a user can easily reply to an SMS from within another app by simply swipe down on the notification to and type the reply. Moreover, users can now send videos and voice messages as an attachment to their messages.

Apple has also focused on providing more features to address issues faced by families when using iOS. With the Family Sharing feature, members of a family can share, contribute and view the family’s content including music, movies, TV shows, books and apps. Parental controls have also been improved with added safe guards for in-app purchases using the “Ask to Buy” feature for children.

The new iOS 8 also has a new feature called iCloud Drive which acts similar to Dropbox and other cloud-based storage solutions that give consumers the power to access their files and content anywhere where there is internet connection.

Apple is also investing on the inclusion of health-related apps by incorporating some fitness tracking features into iOS 8. The health section of iOS 8 will utilize information gathered by fitness devices including smart bands and pedometers and collate them in one place to give users an overview of their current health.

Another nifty feature of the OS is Handoff, which synchronizes a user’s devices so that work done on one device is reflected in the other which makes the transition from one device to another as seamless and smooth as possible. This feature is applicable to a number of existing processes on iOS and Mac including sending text messages or answering a call to an iPhone from a Mac.

iOS 8 also offers consumers with improved Spotlight search (just like in Mac OS X Yosemite) as well as the ability to use third party keyboard for their device. There’s also a new graphics system called Metal that provides console-quality gaming on iOS products.

Last but certainly not the least, Apple has provided developers with deeper access to the OS in order for them to easily build apps on the platform. Specifically, the APIs for the TouchID fingerprint sensor as well as services for the health- and cloud-related features mentioned above.

Just like Mac OS X Yosemite, iOS 8 is now available for download to developers while consumer roll-out should start by Q3 2014. The OS will be compatible to devices that came later than the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2 above and the two iPad Minis.

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Samsung, Sony and HTC have already announced their flagship smartphones and are now starting to get them to retail stores. Apple is expected to release theirs sometime in Q3 of the year as with previous iPhone releases.

Today, an images of an alleged dummy unit of the iPhone 6 surfaced online. And based on the said images, it looks like the Cupertino company is planning to give the iPhone a small makeover aside from the reported bump in its dimensions.

The leaked images show (just like what earlier reports say) a much larger screen for the Apple smartphone, approximately 4.7 inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio. At first glance, the dummy unit looks very similar to an iPod touch with more rounded corners. Surprisingly, the unit lacks a physical home button.

The back of the iPhone 6 model shows off a small circular protrusion – supposedly for the camera. At the side of the camera is a small hole which is probably meant for the camera’s dual-tone flash.

UPDATE (5/6/2014)

New photos of an alleged iPhone 6 dummy unit has surfaced on the intnernet. In contrast to the leaked image above, this one shows a more plausible design featuring a home button and what looks like a brushed metal back.

LG on the other hand has already released invites for its event on May 27 and 28. And although there aren’t a lot of details included in the invite, there’s a good chance that the Korean company will use the event to launch its newest flagship phone – the LG G3.

LG Event Invite for May 27 and 28

Lastly, there’s the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini, which made a swift appearance on Sasmung’s Finnish website. The device is expected to pack a 4.5-inch 720p display, a Snapdragon 400 chipset, an 8MP camera an IP67 rating.

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