Apple are back to their innovative ways with todays introduction to us here at STG of their new iPad Pro with an all-screen design and next-generation performance, marking the biggest change to iPad ever.

The all-new design pushes 11-inch and 12.9-inch Liquid Retina displays to the edges of iPad Pro and integrates Face ID to securely unlock iPad with just a glance. The A12X Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine in iPad Pro that outperforms most PC laptops, and offers a new USB-C connector, Gigabit-class LTE and up to 1TB of storage to enable powerful new mobile workflows. With over a million apps designed to take advantage of the large Multi-Touch display, including next-generation apps like Photoshop CC on iPad (coming in 2019), the new iPad Pro will push what you can do on a computer further than ever before.

A second-generation Apple Pencil magnetically attaches to iPad Pro and wirelessly charges at the same time. A new touch sensor built into Apple Pencil detects taps, introducing an entirely new way to interact within apps. The new Smart Keyboard Folio features a streamlined design that’s adjustable for added versatility. The new iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio are available to order starting today and will be in stores starting on Wednesday, 7th of November 2018.

“The new iPad Pro is a huge step forward for powerful, creative, mobile computing; it has an all-new, thinner design; speeds through projects with the super-fast A12X Bionic chip and unlocks with a glance using Face ID in any orientation — while you’re sitting or standing, with iPad Pro on your desk or lap, with the new Smart Keyboard Folio and new Apple Pencil,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “There has never been a mobile device anything like the new iPad Pro; it has a gorgeous edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display that curves into the corners, breakthrough performance that outperforms most laptops, Face ID, support for the new Smart Keyboard Folio and new Apple Pencil, advanced new cameras and sensors for the best AR experiences ever in any device, a high-speed USB-C connector, louder speakers, faster wireless and more, all packed into a thinner device that has up to all-day battery life and is 25 per cent smaller in volume.”

iPad Pro features the world’s most advanced display — a stunning edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display with rounded corners that follow the curves of iPad Pro’s unibody enclosure. With precision-milled glass, advanced pixel masking, subpixel anti-aliasing and a new backlight design, the new Liquid Retina display in iPad Pro is Apple’s brightest and most colour accurate iPad display, featuring wide colour support, True Tone and an anti-reflective coating for a natural, accurate viewing experience indoors and out. ProMotion technology automatically adjusts the display refresh rate up to 120Hz for ultra-smooth scrolling and incredible responsiveness on iPad Pro.

The new 11-inch iPad Pro packs a bigger display with more pixels in the same footprint as the 10.5-inch model, yet still weighs less than 500 grams. The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro places the largest display of any iPad into a more portable package — a massive 25 per cent reduction in volume. Both models are just 5.9 millimetres thin — the thinnest iPad design ever — making iPad Pro now even easier to take with you.

Built specifically for iPad Pro, the A12X Bionic is the smartest and most powerful chip in a tablet, making even the most demanding computing tasks like editing photos or creating 3D models faster and more responsive. Built on industry-leading seven-nanometre technology, the powerful eight-core A12X Bionic features four performance cores and four efficiency cores for up to 35 per cent faster single-core performance, and a new performance controller that can simultaneously use all eight cores for up to a 90 per cent boost during multi-threaded tasks. A seven-core, Apple-designed GPU delivers up to twice the graphics performance for incredibly rich and immersive AR experiences and console-quality graphics. On iPad Pro, the breakthrough performance and capability lasts all day with up to 10-hour battery life.

Apple’s next-generation Neural Engine is built for advanced machine learning in everything from photography to AR, completing up to 5 trillion operations per second. This enables fast Face ID, faster plane detection for AR apps, and other new features that use real-time machine learning. The Neural Engine is designed to deliver improved performance for Core ML tasks, empowering developers to build apps and new iPad workflows that utilise this highly efficient machine learning engine.

Face ID, the most secure facial authentication system in any tablet or computer, comes to iPad for the first time. Designed to work while holding iPad Pro in any position or while seated using the new Smart Keyboard Folio, Face ID takes advantage of the TrueDepth camera system to accurately map and recognise your face, allowing you to securely unlock iPad Pro, enable Apple Pay in apps and online, and allows users to easily gain access to secure apps. The TrueDepth Camera on iPad Pro also enables Animoji and Memoji.

Advanced cameras and sensors and improved four speaker audio combine with the power of the A12X Bionic to turn iPad Pro, with its large viewfinder, into the best device ever for AR. With support for the next generation of AR apps, a new world of AR experiences is possible on iPad, such as measuring the reflection on real-world objects, navigating buildings in 3D and exploring entire universes. Adobe’s Project Aero (coming in 2019) will enable creators to design experiences that take AR on iPad even further.

The new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio, available for purchase separately, give iPad Pro users new levels of precision and productivity. The second-generation Apple Pencil magnetically attaches to iPad Pro for pairing and wireless charging. It becomes even more powerful and intuitive as you can select just the right tool or brush with a simple double tap on Apple Pencil within apps like Notes. Powerful apps from leading developers like Adobe, Autodesk and Procreate also give you the power to be more creative than ever before.

The new Smart Keyboard Folio protects both the front and back of iPad Pro in a simple, thin and light design encompassing a full-sized keyboard that never needs to be charged or paired. Easily adjustable for lap or desk use, the new Smart Keyboard Folio is perfect for getting thoughts down and multitasking.

The most surprising feature is the addition of USB-C connector replacing the Lightning connector in support of the powerful ways iPad Pro is used. Incredibly versatile, USB-C offers power for charging, supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 for up to twice as fast high-bandwidth data transfers to and from cameras and musical instruments, and drives external displays up to 5K. With USB-C, iPad Pro can even be used to charge an iPhone.

iOS 12 brings new gestures to iPad that are already familiar to iPhone X and iPhone Xs users including tap to wake, and swiping to go home, access Control Centre and multitasking. The new Shortcuts app helps iPad users link powerful yet simple automated workflows for photo editing, video editing, and file and asset management. Improvements to Photo import and support for native RAW image editing give photographers more efficient ways to work and multitask on iPad Pro.

Group FaceTime now makes it easy to connect with groups of friends or colleagues at the same time. Participants can be added at any time, join later if the conversation is still active, and choose to join using video or audio from an iPhone, iPad or Mac. With new Animoji and customisable Memoji, you can take advantage of the large screen on iPad to add more personality to photos and videos in Messages and FaceTime.

The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space grey finishes in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB configurations as well as a new 1TB option. The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at a recommended retail price of $1229 inc. GST AUD for the Wi-Fi model and RRP $1449 inc. GST AUD for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model, whereas the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at RRP A$1529 inc. GST AUD for the Wi-Fi model and RRP A$1749 inc. GST AUD for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model releasing on the 7th of November 2018.

The post Apple announce iPad Pro with all-screen design appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Further to the iPhone XR, Apple went further with two other new models of their all-screen notched iPhones for 2018.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max, slated to be the most advanced iPhones ever, takes Apples vision for the future of the smartphone to a new level. The 5.8-inch iPhone Xs and 6.5-inch iPhone Xs Max feature stunning Super Retina displays, a faster and improved dual camera system that offers breakthrough photo and video features, the first 7-nanometer chip in a smartphone — the A12 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine — faster Face ID, wider stereo sound, a beautiful new gold finish and introduce Dual SIM to iPhone.

“iPhone Xs is packed with next-generation technologies and is a huge step forward for the future of the smartphone. Everything is state of the art including the industry-first 7-nanometer A12 Bionic chip with 8-core Neural Engine, faster Face ID and an advanced dual camera system that shoots Portrait mode photos with Smart HDR and dynamic depth of field,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone Xs is not one, but two new iPhone models, and iPhone Xs Max offers the biggest display ever in an iPhone with the biggest battery ever in an iPhone, delivering up to an hour and a half more battery life in your day.”

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max build on the all-screen design of iPhone X and feature the sharpest displays with the highest pixel density of any Apple device.

Now offered in 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch sizes, these Super Retina displays with a custom OLED design support Dolby Vision and HDR10 and have iOS system-wide colour management for the best colour accuracy in the industry. iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max offer a million-to-one contrast ratio with remarkable brightness and true blacks while showing 60 percent greater dynamic range in HDR photos. iPhone Xs Max delivers a more immersive experience with over 3 million pixels for videos, movies and games, offering the largest display ever in an iPhone in a footprint similar to iPhone 8 Plus.

A surgical grade stainless steel band now in gold joins finishes in silver and space grey. Wider stereo playback creates a more immersive soundstage. The front and back glass design features the most durable glass ever in a smartphone with improved scratch resistance, while the glass back enables faster wireless charging. iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max reach a new level of splash and water resistance of IP68 for up to 2 metres for 30 minutes and protect against everyday spills including coffee, tea and soft drinks.

The Apple-designed A12 Bionic, the smartest and most powerful chip in a smartphone, features the first 7-nanometer chip ever in a smartphone that delivers industry-leading performance in a more power-efficient design. A12 Bionic features a six-core fusion architecture with two performance cores that are up to 15 percent faster, four efficiency cores that are up to 50 percent more efficient, a four-core GPU that is up to 50 percent faster, powerful Apple-designed Image Signal Processor (ISP), video encoder and more. A fast storage controller can deliver iPhone storage up to 512GB. All of this unlocks new experiences for games, photography, video editing and graphics-intensive apps. Even with all this power, iPhone Xs offers 30 minutes longer than iPhone X, and iPhone Xs Max offers an hour and a half longer than iPhone X, between charges.

The next-generation Neural Engine is built for advanced machine learning in everything from photography to augmented reality. A new eight-core design allows it to complete up to 5 trillion operations per second compared to 600 billion in A11 Bionic. This enables new capabilities like faster plane detection for ARKit and new features that use real-time machine learning. For the first time the Neural Engine is open to Core ML, empowering developers to build apps that utilise this highly efficient machine learning engine. Core ML running on the A12 Bionic Neural Engine is up to nine times faster than on A11 Bionic, with as little as one-tenth the energy usage.

iPhone Xs continues to bring innovations to photography, things not possible before iPhone. Capabilities like advanced depth segmentation using the Neural Engine, Smart HDR creating photos with high dynamic range and great image detail, advanced bokeh quality in Portrait mode photos and dynamic depth of field that is user adjustable in the Photos app, are all huge improvements in state-of-the-art photographic techniques that everyone can use.

The 12-megapixel dual camera system features dual optical image stabilisation with 2x optical zoom, while a new sensor is twice as fast. Smart HDR creates photos with more highlights and shadow detail. Larger and deeper pixels improve image fidelity and low-light performance.

New Depth Control allows users to dynamically adjust the depth of field in the Photos app both in real-time preview and post-capture to create portraits with a beautiful background blur. Portrait mode with Depth Control is also available on the TrueDepth camera for selfies, which includes Memoji and faster face tracking support for third-party ARKit apps.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max deliver the highest quality video capture in a smartphone. The larger pixels and larger, faster sensor enable improved low-light performance and video stabilisation, as well as extended dynamic range for more highlight and shadow detail in video modes up to 30 frames per second. Using the four built-in mics, users can also record stereo sound to get the most out of video recordings.

Face ID, the most secure facial authentication system ever in a smartphone, is now even faster. The TrueDepth camera system uses precision depth-sensing technology that goes far beyond the capabilities and security of two-dimensional facial scanners and enables users to unlock iPhone, use Apple Pay, gain access to secure apps and many more features with a simple glance.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max introduce Gigabit-class LTE for even faster download speeds and Dual SIM through the use of a nano-SIM and digital eSIM.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max come with iOS 12, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 12 introduces new AR experiences, helps people rediscover and share photos, and makes communications more expressive and fun with new Animoji and Memoji. Screen Time helps customers understand and take control of the time they spend interacting with their iOS devices, Siri Shortcuts give any app the ability to work with Siri and new privacy features help protect users from being tracked on the web.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max will be available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB capacity models in space grey, silver and a new gold finish starting at RRP NZ$1899 inc.GST (64GB) and NZ$2099 inc. GST (64gGB), respectively, from the official Apple website and in the Apple Store app and is also available through Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers (prices may vary).

The post iPhone Xs & iPhone Xs Max – The best & biggest displays to iPhone appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Apple have this morning (NZT) released info on their annual iPhone and i-Device line up.

Their debuted ‘affordable’ iPhone XR integrates the same technologies from iPhone Xs in an all-screen glass and aluminium design with the most advanced LCD in a smartphone featuring a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display and six beautiful finishes.

Bringing the powerful A12 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine, a TrueDepth camera system, Face ID and an advanced camera system that creates dramatic portraits using a single camera lens.

“iPhone XR helps us reach even more people with the latest iPhone innovations. It is packed with the newest technologies including a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display that goes edge to edge, the latest TrueDepth camera with faster Face ID authentication, new 7-nanometer A12 Bionic chip with second generation Neural Engine and a 12-megapixel camera that takes advanced Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting photos,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The new iPhone XR has a gorgeous new aerospace-grade aluminium and glass enclosure that has IP67 protection from liquids and dust, long all-day battery life and comes in six beautiful finishes. iPhone XR makes it possible for even more people to have the great experience of the latest iPhone X technology, in beautiful new designs, at a more affordable price.”

A stunning all-screen design pushes the display of iPhone XR to its edges. The most durable front glass ever in a smartphone is wrapped in an elegantly matched anodised band made from durable 7000 series aerospace-grade aluminium, and the glass back design enables wireless charging.

iPhone XR comes in six new finishes: white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT)RED. A seven-layer colour process gives the glass back beautiful nuanced hues, and the aluminium band and camera trim are colour matched to give a sophisticated finish. This new design is splash- and water-resistant, with a rating of IP67, and protects against everyday spills including coffee, tea and soft drink.

A portion of proceeds from iPhone XR (PRODUCT)RED purchases will go directly to Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants that provide testing, counselling, treatment and prevention programs with a specific focus on eliminating transmission of the virus from mothers to their babies.

The beautiful 6.1-inch all-screen Liquid Retina display is the most colour accurate in the industry, with wide colour support and True Tone for a more natural viewing experience. Precision-milled glass, advanced pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing allows the display to follow the curves of the device, while a new backlight design enables the display to stretch into the corners.

iPhone XR supports fast and fluid iPhone gestures like tap to wake, swipe up to the home screen, swipe down to access notifications and the Control Center, and the new haptic touch feature for pressing on the home screen to instantly launch the camera or flashlight.

The Apple-designed A12 Bionic, the smartest and most powerful chip in a smartphone, features the first 7-nanometer chip ever in a smartphone that delivers industry-leading performance in a more power-efficient design. A12 Bionic features a six-core fusion architecture with two performance cores that are up to 15 percent faster, four efficiency cores that are up to 50 percent more efficient, a four-core GPU that is up to 50 percent faster, powerful Apple-designed Image Signal Processor (ISP), video encoder and more. All of this unlocks new experiences for games, photography, video editing and graphics-intensive apps while still offering great battery life. Even with all this power, iPhone XR lasts up to an hour and a half longer than iPhone 8 Plus.

The next-generation Neural Engine is built for advanced machine learning in everything from photography to augmented reality. A new eight-core design allows it to complete up to 5 trillion operations per second compared to 600 billion in A11 Bionic. This enables new capabilities like faster plane detection for ARKit and new features that use real-time machine learning. For the first time the Neural Engine is open to Core ML, empowering developers to build apps that utilise this highly efficient machine learning engine. Core ML running on the A12 Bionic Neural Engine is up to nine times faster than on A11 Bionic, with as little as one-tenth the energy usage.

Face ID is faster on iPhone XR, enabled by software optimisations and a faster secure enclave. The TrueDepth camera system uses precision depth-sensing technology that goes far beyond the capabilities and security of two-dimensional facial scanners to unlock iPhone, use Apple Pay, gain access to secure apps and many more features with just a simple glance.

iPhone XR features a 12-megapixel f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens with an all-new sensor, delivering faster auto-focus, while larger and deeper pixels improve image fidelity and low-light performance on photos and videos. Improvements to the ISP, Neural Engine and improved software algorithms enable portrait photos with a beautiful bokeh effect. Smart HDR brings better highlight and shadow detail across photos.

New Depth Control allows users to adjust the depth of field both in real-time preview and post-capture to create striking portraits with a beautiful bokeh effect. Selfies have never looked better with an enhanced Portrait mode on the front-facing TrueDepth camera and Portrait Lighting for dramatic studio lighting effects.

iPhone XR uses LTE Advanced for fast download speeds and introduces Dual SIM through the use of a nano-SIM and digital eSIM.

iPhone XR comes with iOS 12, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 12 changes the way iOS users see the world using augmented reality, helps people rediscover and share photos, and makes communications more expressive and fun with new Animoji and Memoji. Screen Time helps customers understand and take control of the time they spend interacting with their iOS devices, Siri Shortcuts give any app the ability to work with Siri and new privacy features help protect users from being tracked on the web.

iPhone XR will be available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models in white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT)RED starting at RRP NZ$1,399 inc. GST (64GB) from the official Apple website and is also available through Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers (prices may vary). Pre-orders begin Friday, 19th October 2018 and in stores beginning Friday, 26th October 2018.

Every customer who buys iPhone XR from Apple will be offered free Personal Setup online to help them customise their iPhone by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store and more.

The post Apple Announce their ‘Affordable’ iPhone XR appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Apple has today announced new tools built into iOS 12 to help customers understand and take control of the time they spend interacting with their iOS devices. These new features, available later this month as part of the iOS 12 public beta, include Activity Reports, App Limits and new Do Not Disturb and Notifications controls designed to help customers reduce interruptions and manage screen time for themselves and their families.

“In iOS 12, we’re offering our users detailed information and tools to help them better understand and control the time they spend with apps and websites, how often they pick up their iPhone or iPad during the day and how they receive notifications,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We first introduced parental controls for iPhone in 2008, and our team has worked thoughtfully over the years to add features to help parents manage their children’s content. With Screen Time, these new tools are empowering users who want help managing their device time, and balancing the many things that are important to them.”

iOS 12 brings enhancements to Do Not Disturb, making this powerful time management tool even better by helping people stay in the moment during times like studying as well as during a class, meeting or dinner. There is also a new Do Not Disturb during Bedtime mode to help people get a better night’s sleep by dimming the display and hiding all notifications on the lock screen until prompted in the morning. Do Not Disturb has new options from Control Centre where it can be set to automatically end based on a specified time or location.

To help reduce interruptions, iOS 12 gives customers more options for controlling how notifications are delivered. Instantly manage notifications to be turned off completely or delivered directly to Notification Centre. Siri can also intelligently make suggestions for notifications settings, such as to quietly deliver or turn alerts off, based on which alerts are acted upon. iOS 12 also introduces Grouped Notifications, making it easier to view and manage multiple notifications at once.

Empowering customers with insight into how they are spending time with apps and websites, Screen Time creates detailed daily and weekly Activity Reports that show the total time a person spends in each app they use, their usage across categories of apps, how many notifications they receive and how often they pick up their iPhone or iPad.

By understanding how they’re interacting with their iOS devices, people can take control of how much time they spend in a particular app, website or category of apps. The App Limits feature allows people to set a specific amount of time to be in an app, and a notification will display when a time limit is about to expire.

Screen Time is great for everyone to better understand and manage their device usage, but can be especially helpful for kids and families. Parents can access their child’s Activity Report right from their own iOS devices to understand where their child spends their time and can manage and set App Limits for them.

Screen Time also gives parents the ability to schedule a block of time to limit when their child’s iOS device can’t be used, such as at bedtime. During Downtime, notifications from apps won’t be displayed, and a badge will appear on apps to indicate they are not allowed to be used. Parents can choose specific apps like Phone or Books, that will always be available, even during downtime or after a limit is spent.

Screen Time is account-based and works across all of a child’s iOS devices, so settings, reports and allowances are based on their total usage. Screen Time works with Family Sharing and is quick and easy to set up. Parents can configure Screen Time settings remotely for their child within the same Family Sharing group or locally on a child’s device.

Screen Time and the new Notifications and Do Not Disturb features will be available with iOS 12 this spring. The developer preview of iOS 12 is available to Apple Developer Program members from now, and a public beta program will be available to iOS users later this month. iOS 12 will be available this spring as a free software update for iPhone 5s and later, all iPad Air and iPad Pro models, iPad 6th generation, iPad 5th generation, iPad mini 2 and later and iPod touch 6th generation.

The post Have a i-Device? iOS 12 is Coming appeared first on Shane the Gamer.