AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Apple reported an earning, that by most standards and even Apple standards, was very disappointing.  Let's face it.  Aside from a slight Mac surprise and expected declining iPad sales, the quarter did not meet street expection - iPhone sales fell short.  However, more disappointing is the fact that much of what happened could have been prevented and stock should be up instead of treading water on the red end of the pool.  In the days to come, only the promise of higher dividends will keep the stock from tanking further. Aside from an anemic iPad launch talored to get iPad users to upgrade their iPad 2, 3rd/4th generation iPad, and the iPad Air, we have not seen any major product launch or upgrade since the iPhone 7/7S.  At this point, I'd even settle for an iPod refresh.  This isn't to say that Apple is not doing anything at all.  It's likely the company priorities have shifted and the iPhone remains a major focus as it is what is bringing in the vast ...

Pointing out the obvious, this BGR post points out that Apple is winning the premium segment of the phone market (still don't like calling it the phone market since most people do not use their iPhones or Android devices as phones anymore) - and the lead Apple has over Samsung (and not really anyone else has any meaningful share here) has increased. It's likely that Apple can increase its lead even more with the next iPhone, no matter what Apple calls it, since it will likely have a new design and features.  What Samsung can do to slow down Apple's increasing lead in terms of percentage is make sure it has a flawly Galaxy 8 and Note 8 launch.  No more exploding phones - it's that simple (or not quite that simple).  But Apple can really put this thing to bed if it answers Samsung's one unique feature in its premium device:  that the Note has a stylus.  Of course, Apple would never support the use of a stylus on the iPhone.  So, it can add Pencil support to ...

Source:  9to5Mac Almost immediately upon learning about the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro, the next thought that occurred to me was when Apple will bring it to their standalone keyboard. I've left it on the table for a bit and allowed it to simmer for a few days. With Halloween on the horizon, I didn't think about it until I read the above post from  9to5Mac  which they showed a rendering of what an Apple Touch Bar keyboard will look like. I'm not sure if Apple brings the Touch Bar to the external keyboard, it would be just a simple strip like what we see on the MacBook Pro. If you believe that is all Apple will do, then don't expect it to happen this way. First of all, the jury is still out for me on the Touch Bar. I'm not a professional. I'm just a regular Mac user like the most of you. It's too early to see just how useful it will be outside of Apple's reality distortion field and video and photo cutting rooms. Being able to access ...

Source:  Patently Apple via 9to5Mac . The title to this post says it all. What we want to get into is why it is important that while come accessories are cheaper when you do not buy directly from Apple, at best, they could create unexpected results on how your Apple devices work and, at worst, pose a danger to you.  Apple launched a lawsuit against a counterfeiter who sold many cables and chargers on Amazon, declaring them as the genuine items.  And for a steep discount than what you would otherwise have to pay for from Apple, it sounds like a great deal.  Except it is not. These counterfeit items have not gone through Apple's own standards for safety testing for consumer use.  And there lies in the problem.  Uncertified chargers and cables may be more prone to overheating, catching fire, and shock users.  There are plenty of stories you there you can read if you google - people who decided to go with that $2 charger being sold on the street corner ki...

There is a lot of speculations about what Apple will or will not do with the Mac products as the level of anxiety has risen over the lack of new hardware from Apple.  Rightly so since most of the Macs on the market, the Macbook being the only exception, have been around for more than a year without any new hardware update.  And for most of us, it does not help when even leading Apple blogs seem to suggest that Apple is no longer focusing on Macs and has shifted even more resources to the development of iOS devices and the faster growing apps and service segments of its business.  Let me assure you that Apple will not abandon the Macs.  Apple will release new computers when it is ready.  That date will come when the hardware is ready and when marketing and the executive team believes that the time is right.  That is not to say that all the Macs will be updated.  I'm more to be inclined to believe that Macbooks will get the bulk of the attention with the...

I passed on getting the Apple Watch when it went on sale in April of 2015.  I ended up with one as a gift.  And with the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 2 by Apple on September 7th of this year, it had enough new features that I ended up ordering one for myself.  So with the one that I currently own now, I've decided to pass it on instead of keeping it as a collection of some sort (I have a very small watch collection but I just don't see the Apple Watch in the same light yet - I'll get into that later).   It was an easy choice to make as to who I was going to pass my AWS1 (Apple Watch Series 1).  First, I wanted to make sure it was someone who was going to take good care of is.  More importantly, I wanted to make sure that the individual was going to make the most of it. My own Apple Watch experience evolves around the Activity App which records calories burnt, minutes spent on active workout that day, and how many times I've stood up from ...

Before Apple came out with the iPhone 7 on September 7th last week, their invitation had a play on the "7" and I was sort of sure that Apple would be fooling us about the naming scheme and actually end up calling the iPhone 7 just the iPhone or move onto another naming format.  I was wrong. Sorta. Like many others, I still believe the current naming scheme is unsustainable and would really think Apple will go with iPhone 20 thirteen years from now?   With nearly identical form factors between the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, and the iPhone 7, it would have been a perfect time for Apple to abandon it.  However, perhaps, next year would be a better time to do just that when Apple do release the next iPhone with a rumored new form factor.   Here's why.  Apple had just gotten rid of the headphone jack.  Get that out of the way first - for whatever reason Apple truly got rid of it, let it be a distraction this year rather than next year when Apple truly ...