Last week presented us with a look at a new cable rumored to be coming from Apple with the iPhone 6. This new USB to Lightning cable has a reversible USB connector, meaning you can insert it into an ordinary USB port in both orientations just like the Lightning end. Now MacRumors points us toward a video, posted by the same person as earlier photos, showing the cable being plugged in both ways.
Over the years, either voluntarily or by pressure from environmentalists, Apple has paved the way toward eliminating hazardous materials like lead, mercury, and arsenic in the production of their products. Getting the ball rolling several years was no easy task as Apple was pressured mercilessly by Greenpeace to “clean up their act”. Now in 2014, Apple is the leader in safer production practices and renewable energy. Now Apple is adding two more chemicals to its list of banned toxins, benzene and n-hexane.
Countless rumors and reports, including ones here on the PowerPage, have all but taken it for granted now that Apple will be announcing two new models of iPhone next month. Spy photos and prototype cases have been pointing to a 4.7 inch (screen) model and a 5.5 inch model, the latter being Apple’s entry into the “phablet” market. While the more reasonable seeming 4.7 inch iPhone 6 hasn’t been confirmed, an agency in Thailand says it has absolute proof that two different models exist.
Sometimes patience can be a good thing, especially when developers run a sale on apps you’ve had your eye on. There’s quite a few good ones that are on sale or just plain free this week, so get ’em while it lasts.
Apple is running their own promotion on productivity apps for the iPhone and iPad. They’ve gathered up 20 popular apps and slapped discounted prices on them. Some of the hot ticket items are Scanner Pro (use your iDevice’s camera to create PDF documents), Launch Center Pro (handy one-stop launcher for all your apps), Fantastical (calendar app that allows you to add events in plain language), and Boxer (email client with lots of advanced features). Launch Center Pro (separate versions for iPhone and iPad) is normally $4.99, but on sale for $1.99, just to give you an example.
According to tech news site Re/code, Apple has scheduled a media event for September 9th. If Apple follows suit with events in Septembers past, the focal point will be all about Apple’s next-generation iPhones. In barely over a month, we’ll finally know the final details on the new devices, which rumors declare will feature larger displays of 4.7 and 5.5 inches and run speedy new A8 processors. Additional rumors floating around are that delays in the production of the 5.5 inch model will mean Apple is likely to announce that availability of Apple’s entry into the “phablet” market will trail the 4.7 inch model by at least a month. Along with the new iPhones will be announcements regarding iOS 8, which are expected to debut on the new devices and be available for older devices sometime after September 17th according to Ars Technica. As with previous events, it will probably be held at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.