Survey on Apple devices and what users want, the expiration of unlimited storage for Google photos, growth in sales of Apple computers, a smaller Face ID sensor chip, support for Instagram testing of publishing from a web browser, control of the Apple Watch using hand gestures, and other exciting news in On the margin ...

News on the sidelines Week Mar 5 - Mar 11


Reminder: unlimited Google Photos storage will expire after 10 days

Google Photos has always provided unlimited free storage for downloading images in low quality but it is good enough for most users. Starting from June 1, 2021, all photos and videos uploaded to Google accounts will be counted from users' cloud storage. If you depend on Google to back up your media library, it might be time to move that content elsewhere.


A survey of Apple devices and what users want

SellCell conducted a survey of Apple users and the results were as follows:

◉ Only 14% of respondents intend to purchase a 24-inch iMac with an M1 chip, and blue is the most popular color option, at 33.4%, silver is second with 30.1%, and green is 13.4%. The least popular color options are yellow (6.8%), pink (4.1%), and orange (3.3%). This indicates that the majority of iMac‌ customers are not interested in most of the new color options.

◉ 61% of iPhone and iPad users intend to purchase AirTag. 54% feel AirTag is a good deal, while 32% feel it is affordable. Only 14% feel overpriced. Of AirTag buyers, 57% choose the $ 99 four-pack option, while 43% buy them individually for $ 29.

◉ 42.4% of AirTag buyers intend to track their keys, 34.8% intend to track pets, 30.6% want to track luggage, 25.8% intend to track bicycles, 23.3% want to track their wallet, this is other than tracking AirPods charging case, children, vehicles, and drones And partners and TV remotes.

◉ 24.9% are looking forward to purchasing the new "iPad Pro" device, using the "M1" chip. Despite the Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display in the 12.9-inch model, 66% of respondents intend to purchase the smaller 11-inch model, which has the same LED screen as the previous generation model.

◉ Looking to the future, 82% of respondents would like to see Face ID authentication added to future iMacs and MacBooks.

◉ As for the iPhone 13 lineup, 21% want Touch ID back, 17% want a ProMotion 120 Hz screen, and 15% want a smaller notch. 12% believe that the return of the in-box power adapter is the most important potential advantage.

◉ Only 5% want smaller and more compact iPhones, 1% want a foldable design, and it also appears that a few want to switch to USB-C and they account for only 0.8%.


Apple laptop shipments grow in Q2021 XNUMX

Apple ranked fourth after Dell, HP and Lenovo in selling laptops, with the three companies shipping between 10 and 16 million laptops during the quarter. Apple laptop shipments grew by an estimated 94% in the first quarter of 2021, to an estimated 5.7 million laptops, including MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, excluding Mac mini, Mac Pro and iMac. Compared to the 2.9 million devices shipped in the previous quarter of last year, this strong growth is due to people working from home.

Apple's market share for the quarter was 8.4%, up from 7.8% last year. Lenovo and HP continue to lead the market, shipping a variety of Windows laptops along with Chromebooks, which have seen strong growth especially in the education sector.

Total laptop shipments rose 81% year-on-year among all the major companies, but Apple in particular may have seen significant growth thanks to the launch of the M1 MacBook Pro and "MacBook Air" in November, both of which significantly outperform previous Intel models without increases in the prices.


Apple is making a smaller Face ID sensor chip

Apple intends to use a much smaller Face ID sensor chip in iPhones and iPads from late this year onwards, and it is reported that Apple has chosen to reduce the size of the VCSEL chips used in the Face ID scanner. This step will help reduce production costs as more chips can be produced on a single chip, reducing the overall production of chips.

The redesigned VCSEL chip may allow to incorporate new functions in the component and free up internal space. The first devices to contain the new chip are supposed to be the iPhone 13 models, in addition to the next generation of iPad Pro models.


Twitter subscription service may cost $ 2.99

Twitter has been working on a kind of paid service since last summer, which often brings new features into the app. The service can be called Twitter Blue, and at the moment, it has a price of $ 2.99 a month. Among its features:

◉ There will be a "Groups" section that allows users to save and organize their favorite tweets for easy finding at a later time.

◉ It will also include the “Undo Tweets” feature, which will give customers a short time to “undo” an error-free Tweet before it is published and is customizable, so that users can set their preferred time interval.

◉ Users will also be able to specify where the Undo Tweet feature will be applied, with options including original tweets, replies, and quick tracking of tweets and cited tweets.


Instagram test posting support from web browser

Developer and leaker Alessandro Baloozi discovered a code in Instagram indicating that he is working on the ability to upload and drop photos and videos locally from his computers or through a web browser, as well as crop content, apply filters, and create text accompanying the post.

It remains unclear when the features will be published, and there is no mention of creating supported stories within the browser. And given Instagram's long-standing focus on smartphone-creating content, the company could decide to forgo web feature testing altogether.


Fake AirPods Shipment Confiscated

The US Customs and Border Protection Department confiscated a shipment of more than 36 counterfeit AirPods from China to Cincinnati after it was found to be counterfeit and in violation of Apple's copyright infringement rules, valued at $ 7.16 million. The seizure of the shipment was announced on May 11 and May 13. Apple products, especially AirPods, are often counterfeited and sold cheaper. Apple is aware of this issue, as there is an entire team dedicated to ensuring that these products never reach the market.

See our previous article “How to spot the difference between an original and a fake Apple AirPods"


MacBooks with mini-LED displays may be delayed until 2022

It is widely rumored that Apple is planning to re-design the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with mini-LED displays, but laptops may be released later than expected. While multiple sources indicated that Apple plans to launch new MacBook Pro models in the second half of 2021, including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, there have been reports that the launch of MacBooks with Mini-LED screens may be delayed. Until sometime in 2022. There are no other details available at the moment of the main reason for the delay.


Google is concerned about the privacy policy for Apple users

Google faces internal concerns that implementing a privacy system equivalent to Apple's App Tracking Transparency System would hurt its annual spending budget of more than $ 130 billion for advertising. According to the report, Google is working to "speed up work to limit how application developers track 2.5 billion people who use phones running its Android program." This is possible due to the violent response that Apple faced regarding this matter.


Apple makes concessions on privacy in China

Apple is making concessions on privacy and security in order to continue building and selling its devices in China. The focal point of the report is Apple's decision to comply with a 2016 law that requires that all information and personal data collected in China be retained in China, which prompted Apple to build a data center in China and transfer iCloud data to Chinese customers to China, and this is managed by a Chinese company. Apple has battled China's efforts to control customer data, but given Chinese influence over Apple, Apple had little choice but to comply.


Redesign of the Apple Store application on the iPad

Apple has updated its Apple Store app on the iPad to introduce an updated design that includes a new sidebar. The sidebar on the left side of the screen provides quick access to shopping, Today at Apple sessions, favorites, order history, and more. There are also buttons for shopping by product so you can switch to iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and other Apple devices more quickly, and it is also easy to add a keyboard or Apple Pencil seamlessly when shopping for an iPad.


Control the Apple Watch using hand gestures

Apple has reviewed a long list of new accessibility features that will come to the watch soon, including AssistiveTouch, which will allow users to control the watch without having to touch the screen or controls, and with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning on the watch, it will be the gyroscope, accelerometer and rate sensor Heartbeats are able to detect subtle differences in muscle movement and tendon activity, and these movements will allow users to navigate a cursor on the Apple Watch screen through a series of hand gestures.


Apple announces new background sounds and AssistiveTouch features on the Apple Watch, and more

Apple announced the upcoming launch of several new accessibility features that are being added to its various products and services. She says these options are designed for people with movement, vision, hearing and cognitive disabilities, and that accessibility is a human right. In addition to new features for communicating with support personnel, operating an iPad, navigating the Apple Watch, support for eye tracking to allow people to control the iPad with their eyes, background sounds on an iPhone and iPad, and more.


Miscellaneous news

◉ Popular photo editor developer Pixelmator Pro announced a limited time sale of $ 19.99, providing customers with a 50% discount on the regular sale price of $ 39.99.

Pixelmator Pro
Developer
Download

◉ After stopping selling iMac Pro, it seems that Apple will also stop selling other accessories that were affiliated with it, such as Space Gray Mac accessories such as Space Gray Magic Mouse 2, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, which means that these accessories will be available for a limited time.

◉ After the recent Twitter update, it immediately began asking users to enable ad tracking under Apple's App Tracking Transparency Rules.

◉ The first video clip for the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro is unpacked online in white, giving the first realistic look at what the new all-white accessory looks like. Watch the video:

◉ The controversial social media app Parler returned today to the App Store, several months after Apple suspended it for violating “App Store” rules.

Parler
Developer
Download

◉ Apple has updated its platform security guide with in-depth security information about the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, the ability to unlock an iPhone using the Apple Watch while wearing a mask, and more.

◉ Apple launched macOS Big Sur 11.5, iPadOS 14.7, tvOS 14.7, and watchOS 7.6 for developers.

◉ Apple confirmed that the new 24-inch iMac, iPad Pro, and updated Apple TV 4K will be available to customers in its stores and retail stores around the world on Friday, May 21, and had started pre-orders for products earlier last month. .

Apple plans to release new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with an improved iteration of the M1 chip early this summer. The new chip is said to include a 10-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores, with 16-core or 32-core GPU options.

◉ The famous leaker Prosser says that the Apple Watch 7 will feature a flat-edged design and a new green color option, very similar to the iPhone 12, and it is expected to adopt that design in the upcoming MacBook Pro.

◉ Qualcomm announced that it has upgraded the Snapdragon X65 5G modem with improved energy efficiency and support for wider mmWave drivers, a major requirement before the introduction of 5G mmWave networks in China.

◉ It seems that Apple is working on a bug that some iOS 14.5 users were suffering from as they were unable to set the "Allow applications to request tracking" setting.

◉ Google Photos gets a new paid feature that works with artificial intelligence so that it can take two similar photos and turn them into one moving shot.

◉ Just three days before the arrival of the new iPad Pro to customers, the developers of the award-winning, popular photography and photo editing app Halide announced the launch of an iPad application, complete with a custom user interface that takes advantage of the larger screen.

Halide Mark II - Pro Camera
Developer
Download

This is not all the news on the sidelines, but we came to you with the most important of them, and it is not necessary for a non-specialist to occupy himself with all the wandering and incoming, there are more important things that you do in your life, so do not make devices distract you or distract you from your life and your duties, and know that technology is there to make life easier for you And help you, and if I robbed you of your life and preoccupied you with it, then there is no need for it.

Sources:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26

Related articles