This week on the Apple news report we will cover all the details on both the new iPad Air and iPad mini retina, plus the Apple TV updates and iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C availability.
Top Apple News and Rumors This Week
- Apple iPad Event Roundup
- Meet The New iPad Air and iPad Mini 2
- What We Did’nt Get At The iPad Event
- Apple TV Gets iMovie Update
- iPhone 5S and 5C Now On Sale In 35 More Countries
Apple iPad Event Brings New Gear From Apple
Last Tuesday was Apple’s third event in 2013, and probably the best of the bunch. The event brought us two new iPads, the new Mac Pro (finally!), and new Retina MacBook Pros. Apple also released OS X Mavericks with a great price – free. Last up was an update for iLife and iWork suites for the Mac, iOS, and iCloud.com. For all the complete details of the event make sure to check out the full iPad media event roundup.
Key Features of the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2
The two biggest products from Apple’s media event were the new iPads. Apple gave us a few surprises on both the iPad Air and iPad Mini. First up was the new fifth-generation iPad called the iPad Air. The new tablet is 20% thinner than the iPad 4 and weighs just one pound. The iPad Air will have a 9.7-inch Retina display and will come in two color options of space-gray/black or silver/white. It also has an A7 chip, 5-megapixel iSight camera and a 10-hour battery life. The iPad Air starts at the same $499 for 16GB and 4G LTE version starts at $629. Cook then threw a curve ball as he announced that the iPad 2 will stay on the market and for only $399.
The iPad mini will finally get that long awaited retina Display. It will feature a new 7-inch screen with a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution. The iPad mini 2 will have the same A7 chip found in the iPhone 5S and the new iPad Air. The 64-bit chip will be slightly under-clocked compared to the A7 chip in the iPad Air. Expect a big performance increase compared to last years model, which only sported an A5 chip. The new tablet will jump up $70 in price and now start at $399 compared to the $330 from last year. The tablet is set for a late November launch, but I expect a very limited supply.
What the Apple event didn’t bring us
Apple gave us some incredible updates on Tuesday thanks to new iPad, Macbooks and a Mac Pro. However, some hardcore Apple fans still feel cheated. Probably one of the biggest things Apple left out of the new iPads was Touch ID. The killer feature found on the new iPhone 5S was nowhere to be seen on the new iPads. Other long shots, such a new Apple TV and the highly rumored iWatch, were also not announced.
Apple releases Apple TV update 6.0.1
The latest software update to “the little black box” now gives your Apple TV iMovie. Software version 6.0.1, dubbed build 11B511d, comes one day after the company rolled out a dedicated channel for iMovie Theater. iMovie Theater is a cross device feature designed to allow users to watch shared clips, movies, and trailers on all Apple devices, including the Apple TV. The new iMovie channel is available through an over-the-air update and should be available for users running the most recent Apple TV software.
iPhone 5S and 5C now in 35 more countries
As promised back in September at the iPhone event, Apple has released both devices in 35 more countries. This list includes Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and Thailand, among many others. Apple will add another 11 new launch countries on November 1st including the likes of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. By the first of November the new iPhones will be available in over 50 markets, and by the end of the year that number is expected to grow to 100.
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