O'Grady's PowerPage

Category: iPad Pro

  • iFixit posts iPad Air 3 teardown report, notes improved battery, upgraded display, other changes

    Late Wednesday, the super cool cats at iFixit published their full teardown of the iPad Air 3, complete with x-rays for good measure.

    Per the teardown

    “Our first peek inside reveals an internal layout that’s rather different from Airs past, featuring a central logic board—as seen in certain Pro iPads […]

    [That’s not the only reason the] Air 3 looks an awful lot like the 10.5″ Pro! Dual-cell battery, Apple Pencil support, and Smart connector all say “Pro” to us—we’re just missing the second set of speakers!”

    iFixit also noted that the dual-celled 30.8Wh battery is a bit bigger than the 30.2Wh battery Apple promised. The new battery takes after the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and is a big upgrade from the 27.6Wh battery found in the iPad Air 2.

    Apple Pencil support is similar, as the chips are similar to the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

    While the iPad Air 3 is missing the Pro’s ProMotion 120 Hz display, users do get a full-laminated display with an anti-reflective coating that offers a P3 wide color gamut, and True Tone.

    Unsurprisingly, iFixit gives the machine a low repairability score of 2/10. The good news is that a single Philips screwdriver gets you into the device, but all the adhesive makes any repair difficult, even something as basic as a battery replacement. The Lightning port is also soldered to the logic board, so if that fails, users will need to replace the entire board.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and iFixit

  • Bent iPad Pro owners may face obstacles in receiving warranty-covered repairs from Apple

    After reports surfaced last year of bent iPad Pro devices, it appears that the bending issue can not only damage the tablet’s logic board, but might not fall under the criteria for warranty-baed repairs at the Apple Store.

    The iPad Pro, which has an Apple-defined 300 to 400 micro range of deviation, could fail to meet criteria for repairs. In addition, the bending, when present, can affect the connection for the main board, thereby leading to a potential $449 repair fee through the Apple Store.

    In other worst-case scenarios, as documented over at Macworld, the Apple Store has refused to help, blamed the user for the issue, claimed that the bending issue wasn’t real, and noted that Apple has yet to issue any guidance on the problem aside from a support article that works to explain away the issue with the 2018 model iPad Pro.

    The support article itself also states that the new tablets “meet an even tighter specification for flatness than previous generations.” Apple blames the iPad’s new straight edges and the presence of “antenna splits” on the cellular model for “subtle deviations in flatness more visible only from certain viewing angles that are imperceptible during normal use.” In short, if you think it’s bent, you’re looking at it wrong.

    The support article notes that “small variances do not affect the strength of the enclosure or the function of the product and will not change over time through normal use.”

    Macworld’s article notes that even after it’s highlighted user, Marcus, was denied the bent iPad Pro repair warranty repairs by two Genius Bar technicians, Marcus was able to send the table into an Apple Repair Center (located via getsupport.apple.com), and was sent a replacement iPad Pro “the very same day” his defective iPad Pro was received, proving that Apple’s policies and its actions may not be completely in sync, to Marcus’ advantage.

    If you have any bent 2018 model iPad Pro repair horror stories to share, please let us know about your experiences in the comments.

    Via Macworld and getsupport.apple.com

  • Rumor: Apple to retain Touch ID, 3.5 millimeter audio jack in some 7th-gen iPad units

    There’s a chance that the technologies you’ve come to love will remain in Apple’s 7th-gen iPad.

    A series of recent rumors from Asian suppliers has suggested that the 7th-generation iPad will sport an enclosure design identical to the current 9.7-inch iPad, complete with Touch ID biometric authentication and a headphone jack.  

    Citing sources who conduct business through Alibaba, Mac Otakara reports Apple has no plans to revamp the design of its 9.7-inch “budget” iPad, a model manufactured with the education market in mind. 

    At least one supplier has stated that a 10-inch iPad model is on the way, which dovetails with predictions from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who stated last month that Apple would introduce a low-end table with a 10.2-inch screen.

    The 2019 iPad is thought to retain older technology such as Touch ID, even though Apple swapped out the fingerprint-based authentication tech for Face ID in its top-of-the-line iPad Pro seres in 2018. 

    It’s also thought that Apple might retain the 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, which was removed in the 2016 iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as well as the 2018 iPad Pro.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and Mac Otakara

  • Apple shareholder meeting provides rare hint as to upcoming iPad Pro USB-C feature

    Sometimes Apple offers the coolest upcoming product teases in a rare moment.

    Over at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Apple’s Craig Federighi answered a shareholder question about iPad Pro models, USB-C, and the current inability to do video over USB-C.

    The question came during Apple’s Q&A part of its annual shareholder meeting in Cupertino on Friday. It was question number 4, from a shareholder who said he wanted to buy an iPad Pro, but was concerned about the inability to do video output through the USB-C port Apple now uses on its iPad Pro models.

    Instead of quickly deflecting the question about the feature, Mr. Federighi stating that he was anticipating the specific question, and stated that a solution for the issue was en route.

    While this isn’t the world’s most startling announcement, it was a nice hint as to what to expect further down the line.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer

  • Apple patent describes method in which Touch ID could span an entire iPhone display

    While Touch ID is no longer offered as a means of biometric authentication on current model iPhones and iPad Pro tablets, Apple may be considering the possibility of adding fingerprint recognition to its mobile devices, by using acoustic imaging on the display. 

    Face ID has been a successful replacement for Touch ID, boasting fewer false positives than the more physical biometric security system while still remaining fast to use. While it has brought some benefits, there are still some advantages to using Touch ID over Face ID, such as in situations where it isn’t prudent to use Face ID or to unlock the iPhone while it is still in the user’s pocket. 

    Per a recently-granted patent, Apple seems to have come up with a means of incorporating Touch ID without sacrificing a significant chunk of the iPhone’s real estate.

    The patent, entitled “Acoustic pulse coding for imaging of input devices,” describes how sound could be applied to a surface in order to detect how another object comes into contact with it. In short, this could enable a fingerprint to be read when it is pressed onto a display.

    The design described within the patent uses an array of acoustic transducers that are positioned in contact with the surface. These units can transmit a coded impulse signal in response to a touch input. By monitoring the reflections from multiple coded signals, an image resolver can receive the reflection data and generate an image based on the input. 

    The end result is that sound impulses are sent out that come into contact with the ridges of the user’s fingerprint. These ridges interrupt the impulse’s transit and are reflected, with these reflections then interpreted into a fingerprint image that can be analyzed. 

    The technique would provide a number of benefits when compared to existing fingerprint reading technologies. Among the advantages would be a reduced thickness of the components requires. There would also be a lack of a need for electrodes to be placed on the display. This, in turn, would reduce the complexity of display production, which means a potential speed boost for performing the authentication check in the first place, due to Apple suggesting it requires less processing power. 

    The technology, which is based on sound transmittance, could feasibly allow for fingerprint reading, which could be placed anywhere on the display of the device.

    One version involves transducers surrounding the entire display area, potentially allowing for a more accurate scan by pinging from multiple sides. 

    Apple files numerous patents on a weekly basis, so a patent doesn’t necessarily mean that this technology will it be used, but this is a good indicator as to what might be down the road. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and the United States Patent and Trademark Office