At this point, we are certain that the next Apple press event will take place on 9th of September in San Francisco. The event, occurring at the stadium called Bill Graham Civic, will be streamed live starting 10am. Here, we take a few guesses regarding what may really be unveiled in the event.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

Through the past couple of years, Apple has announced its new iPhone models during the early part of September, unleashing the models for sale after nearly 10 days from announcement date. This time, we expect the same to happen.

Sources suggest that the iPhone 6s will not have a drastically different design from its predecessor.

According to all the rumors going on, in terms of size and weight, the 6s will resemble the 6, and the 6s Plus the 6 Plus. Also, the new models are expected to feature A9 processor, and 2GB RAM. Other than that, most believe that there will be Force Touch, along with improved FaceTime and iSight for the front and rear camera, respectively.

One particular rumor has to say that the new phones will come packed with even ‘selfie flash’! Other than that, since many people noted that the Apple 6 phones could bend when reasonable pressure was applied, the fresh models will most likely contain tougher 7000 series aluminum as body material.

Chances are, the new phones will come with more reliable cellular chips for better and faster phone reception. Apple may even announce one rose gold colored case. Not just that, some believe that the upcoming models will feature animation wallpapers, like those available in the Apple Watch.

Apple’s new TV

Other than the new 6 phones, we believe that we will see a fresh Apple TV. According to rumors from several sources, the new TV will contain A8 as its processor and come with lots of space for storage. It may even feature a case that is iPhone-like and a remote that is touch-based. Expected to come with an App Store of its own, the TV is likely to give Siri support and eventually unleash ‘a la carter’ services.

Honestly, we do not believe that the new TV will come with a remote. That is because most Apple TV users have iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. So, it does not make sense for the company to lose profits by bundling a remote for no reason. Besides, Siri support itself will allow a fascinating level of control. The tagline ‘Hey Siri, give us a hint’ perhaps refers to just that!

The venue in which the event will take place contains 7,000 or so seats, and Apple is going to close down the front street near it. Also, Apple has recently released its HomeKit compatible automation devices. So, perhaps, it is possible that its new TV will be able to act as one home automation hub, too, along with acting as one entertainment hub. Note that every HomeKit accessory can be controlled using Siri, which means that Apple may want to highlight all its home automation expectations using a building toward the auditorium’s front.

Shipping date for the iOS 9

People in the industry will be totally shocked if the fresh iPhones do not feature iOS 9. That means, you can expect to hear the shipping date for the same mobile OS during the event. Most probably, the shipping date will fall between 9th of September and 18th. We feel that the date will be 16th, two days prior to the fresh phones entering the market.

Shipping date for the OS X El Capitan

Apple has traditionally highlighted different products during its events, even when not releasing them directly. So, OS X EI Capitan may get highlighted during the event, as it seems to be fast moving toward its shipping date. It may even get shipped during the same week when the iOS 9 does. But then, Apple may postpone the date a bit to avoid putting too much pressure on its upgrade servers.

Watch OS 2 shipping details

Many developers are eagerly waiting for Apple to announce its Watch OS 2, to show the world their wonderful apps. So, Apple may want to unveil its Watch OS 2 on 9th of September to not disappoint them.

New iPad

The iPad will most probably receive a remarkable update at the event. But then, it is very unlikely that a new iPad version will be announced during the same. That is because Apple has traditionally held an October event solely to release iPads. Having said that, if an iPad Air or Mini ends up being unveiled it will possibly feature quicker processor and Force Touch. Also, may come with a USB-C common connector, moving a bit closer to iPhones. 

iPad Pro

Whether the iPad Pro will actually be announced or not cannot be said with certainly. But, if Apple ends up announcing it, then most probably it will contain a retina display of size 12.9 inches and a stylus having Force Touch. And also, the A9 processor!

Fresh Macs

Data shows that PC sales are falling, and the sales of Macs are increasing. So, Apple may highly benefit from announcing one or two new desktops and laptops, especially that school time is quickly approaching. However, that may not exactly happen, for a reason.

Intel has not yet finished tuning up its Skylake processor. So, Apple may decide to wait for a few months, and then announce its new attractions. Skylake is making headlines as it is going to provide benefits like reduced consumption of power, smaller motherboard use, drastic performance enhancement, and others. Skylake may even make it possible for Macs to connect to 4Ks and other similar displays without any cable, with the help of its wireless transfer technology, called WiGig.

Regardless, when fresh Macs finally enter the market, one model will very likely feature no less than 21 inch retina display. Other than that, 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pros may come with USB-C. 

What are you expecting from the event?

All the ideas and expectations expressed in this post take as basis leaks, rumors and the overall direction toward which Apple seems to be heading. But, it is always fun and enlightening to know what you readers think about the event and expect to see in it. Let us know with the help of comments!

Apple has put an end to all the rumours and speculations going on about its next event by announcing the date for the same. The company has recently sent invitations to the media, announcing September 9th as the date when it will showcase its newest iPhone models. The event, taking placing on Wednesday in San Francisco, will start at noon. Apple has chosen the Bill Graham Civic as its auditorium for the purpose.

The invitations which Apple sent out to the world contain a colourful Apple logo, along with a catchy tagline or phrase. The tagline goes ‘Hey Siri, give us a hint.” What does that mean? We can guess all we want, but the truth is that, at this point, we do not really know. Only the event will unveil its true meaning.

The company is expected to show the world its latest offerings from the iPhone series in the event, most probably named iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. That is, assuming that Apple will go on to use its traditional naming style. Industry experts suggest that most features of the new phones will be similar to that available in the previous generation phones, with certain additions like A9 processor, better camera, and Force Touch.

Apple may also showcase a new version of its TV in the same event, but that is only an educated guess. If it does that, chances are the new TV will boast of a complete App Store, a fresh remote control, and interesting Siri Support.

We do not know what exactly is going to happen in the event, as the company has not released any specific details regarding the same, but one thing is sure: if you think that Siri will tell you what the ‘hint’ part really means, you are going to be disappointed this time!

The Mac Mini is certainly brilliant. Small, portable and yet it is able to perform at a level that is far superior to its mere size. However, in order to get the best out of it, it is important that you use the system with its display. If you use it without attaching it to the display, it may give you performance issues. That is, due to the GPU not getting activated, forcing its CPU to perform every bit of the task.

This becomes especially evident when you are accessing the Mini from a remote location. You may find that you experience a lot of interface lags, along with some choppy animations of the OS X. Sometimes, you may even witness that cursor movements are pretty slow. Plus, slow typing speed and menu navigation speed may cause you further headache.

Thankfully, OWC and Newer Technology have developed a really good solution to tackle the problem. It has unveiled its NewerTech Headless Mac Video Accelerator, which has the ability to connect with the help of the Thunderbolt port or mini-Display port of your Mac Pro, or via your Mini. Now, now you can easily make all your remote experiences awesome with the help of the HDMI port offered by your very own Mini.

Working with the NewerTech product is quite easy. You just have to plug the HDMI Headless Accelerator in order to get the GPU getting activated. You do not even need a display for the purpose. The whole thing emulates a resolution of as high as 1080p, which means that you get to work remotely exactly the way you love to. In other words, NewerTech has made it possible for you to work as smoothly as possible with your headless Mini.

But, how does the whole thing work and how can it even possibly help you?

Here is the video that gives you a very compelling first look of the device. In the video, you will find Chris S. of OWC give you a quick tour of the HDMI Video Accelerator. After you watch this video, you will understand exactly how the thing works and how it can really boost the performance of your Mac Mini! That is, of course, without you having to get into the hassle of connecting a display to it!

Sounds cool? It really is!

OWC Founder and CEO Larry O’Connor recently wrote a guest article for hardware.itbusinessnet.com to shed some additional light on OWC SSDs and TRIM.

In the article, he discusses some of the benefits and drawbacks of the command and the history of OWC SSDs and why there is no need for the TRIM command when using one.

Be sure to check out the complete article by OWC Larry at: hardware.itbusinessnet.com/article/Trim-Talk-4034718

Perhaps you are the most amazing fan of the Mac Photos App, or perhaps, you hate it with a burning passion. Whichever the case, the thing is that the app is quite able, believe it or not. And so, it is not going to go away anytime soon.

The app offers a great number of different features to please almost any photo enthusiast. That is, of course, as long as one does not like to hate it just for the sake of hating it.

The Photos App, actually, has a number of features which can make your digital life super easy. And that is exactly the focus of this article.

How can it do that? Let’s stop wasting time and get to the point straight.

It can make your life easy when it comes to:

1. Editing your snaps

If you are like most people, then being able to edit your photos to your liking is important to you; regardless of how unproductive the task may really be.

Good news is, if you know what you are doing, you can edit your photo within seconds with the help of the Photos app. You can easily enter the edit mode by pressing the ‘Edit’ button located near the corner in the top right portion of your screen. Or, you can simply use your keyboard’s ‘Return’ key for the purpose.

Editing your favourite snaps with the help of the app is quite fun, actually. As soon as you enter the mode, the background becomes black and seven different buttons emerge toward the right side of the screen. The whole thing looks visually appealing.

The first button is named ‘Enhance’, which has the job of enhancing the appearance of your photo. Clicking the button elevates your image automatically, by either adjusting saturation a bit, or making changes to brightness, or doing something else.

The second button is called ‘Rotate’. When you click the button, your image gets rotated counterclockwise by 90 degrees at once. The button is helpful to deal with images which seem somewhat skewed.

The ‘Crop’ option, which is the third button, allows you to get rid of any unwanted side space of your photo. While it does a great job of bringing attention to the main subject by eliminating distraction, it also proves to be useful for straightening your photo. That is because you can use the manual crop feature to drag the different image corners. The button also gives you the ability to crop your image with the help of aspect ratios, for example 4:3 or 16:9.

The next or fourth option, ‘Filters’, presents you with 9 different instant filters which possess the power to alter the saturation and colour of the image you are dealing with. The button makes changing colours really easy. For instance, you can make your photo monochrome from colour using just one click!

As far as the ‘Adjust’ button is concerned, it can be regarded as something that puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to getting rid of exposure, shadows, highlights, contrast, brightness, and black portions.

The sixth button is known as ‘Retouch’. True to its name, it enables you to get rid of any unwanted scratches or spots that your photo may have.

And finally, the last option called ‘Red-Eye’ does exactly what you think it does. That is, it removes any ghostly red-eye colour that may be making your photo a bit ugly.

The best part about editing a photo with the help of the Photos app is that you can easily get your original version back after editing your photo. Even if you save your photo with the help of the yellowish ‘Done’ button, you can still find your original.

2. Sharing special moments

Photo sharing is one of those things that we just do nowadays. We do not even think about it anymore consciously. It has become a part of our day to day lives, like a habit almost. Still, many apps in the market can make the job quite dreadful.

When you are dealing with the Photos app, sharing your photos no longer seems like a dreaded task. Instead, it seems like fun.

You can choose from two different sharing modes. The first mode is Standard. The second option is through iCloud. With the help of the latter, you can share your photos using Facebook, Flickr, Mail, AirDrop or Messages. Doing the same is really easy. All you have to do is pick your favourite images followed by clicking on the ‘Share’ option.

Although the Standard share option has its pros, iCloud seems to fare far better. That is because it is the option that gives you the ability to share your holiday photos with a select few friends or relatives. You can choose who can see your photos by inviting people manually. The images you share can be found in a scrolling wall of photos, and even your friends and relatives can add their shares to it. In the wall, you can see photos individually, or with the help of a slideshow.

3. Getting to the nitty-gritty

Sometimes, finding out the small things about a photo becomes important. Keeping that in mind, the app makes finding out what a particular photo is all about really straightforward. By clicking on the round ‘i’ button, you can view all the details associated with a photo. You can become aware of the camera model, and you can see the correct resolution. You can even come to know its location in case GPS integration was used at the time of capturing it. Not just that, if you wish you can expand the information present by adding title, keywords, description and other data, meant to make search easy. Note that the information page can be located by pressing ‘Command’ + ‘i’ on your computer’s keyboard, as well.

4. Creating mesmerising projects

During those times when you want to print your photos, or prepare cards with them, or craft a beautiful calendar with their help, the app can come to your rescue. With its ‘Projects’ option, you can create a new project and design it to your heart’s desire. You can even create beautiful slideshows and books with the help of the same.

In order to order print of your photos, or start a project, or form a slideshow, you need to choose the photos you want to incorporate from your Albums or Photos, and then pick the kind of project you want o start from the various menu options. Even though all of the menu options are nice and exciting, the ‘Cards’ option especially impresses as it has the ability to create truly eye-catching greeting cards. You can even get embossed letterpress type of cards formed with the help of the app. As far as books go, you can get hardcover edition, or soft edition. The interesting thing is that you can even pick a book shape: rectangular or square. Another thrilling aspect is that the learning curves associated with completing the different projects are quite short and easy.

5. Savouring photo albums

Not many photo applications give you the convenience of storing your photos in different albums. Mac Photos app does, however.

The Album feature comes handy when you have thousands of vacation photos and not all of them are great, which is the typical case with holidays. With the help of the feature, you can differentiate between the ones you love the most and the ones that you do not love all that much.

In order to create an Album of photos, you have to pick the desired photos from your photo library. The relieving part is, even if you delete one photo from your album, it remains in your library. So, you can just go ahead and do whatever you like with your album photos without fearing any loss of data.

Creating an Album is a good idea to categorise photos. For example, if you click a few hundred wedding photos, you can categorise them into different categories, such as reception, wedding and the likes.

What is intriguing about the app, however, is that the app is able to categorise photos to different albums simply by following an advanced process. It categorises photos according to last date, face, time lapse, and many other criteria. The app even has the ability to categorize photos according to the iOS app using which it was taken. For instance, if certain photos are associated with Instagram, and others are with FX Photo Studio, the app differentiates between those by creating two distinct folders.

The feature of smart album is one of the most precious features the app offers without a doubt. In order to create a new one, you just need to click on “File” menu then go to ‘New Smart Album’, and then provide a description of what you want it to be about. The reason smart albums are regarded that way is because they empower you to categorise photos using criteria like a specific face, before a certain date, and many other complex things.

The point is this: in case you have not tried it out yet, go ahead and give it a shot. We believe it will not disappoint you.

Apple has begun an iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program to replace the batteries of a small percentage of iPhone 5 units that have a faulty battery resulting in a shorter battery life and longer, more frequent charging times.

iPhone 5 devices exhibiting battery issues were sold between September of 2012 and January of 2013 and are eligible for a free battery replacement.

“Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range.

If your iPhone 5 is experiencing these symptoms and meets the eligibility requirements noted below, Apple will replace your iPhone 5 battery, free of charge.”

Apple says the issue affects only a “limited serial number range.” iPhone 5 users can input their serial numbers on Apple’s replacement site to find out whether their phones need a new battery. Those who do have a faulty battery can get a replacement through an Apple Authorized Service Provider, an Apple Retail Store, or through Apple Technical support.

Users who already paid to replace their batteries will be eligible to receive a refund for the cost of the battery from Apple. Apple’s support site says the program covers iPhone 5 batteries for two years after the first retail sale of the unit or until March 1, 2015, whichever provides longer coverage. Replacements will be available in Australia on August 29.

In addition to the new Battery Replacement Program, Apple also has a replacement program for iPhone 5 units that have a faulty sleep/wake button, which also provides repairs at no cost. Some iPhone 5s units have also experienced faulty battery life but Apple opted to reach out individually to affected users rather than implementing a replacement program for those devices.

Source : macrumors.com