Previously also had the concept of circular phones, but it’s new and exciting. The format of the 2016 handset is pretty much set in stone and the game changing won’t come from a circular device. But that is very sympathetic.
This circular iPhone concept can may would work excellently as both a phone and something with a belt to use as a watch. The device is slim, has a metal body and seems to display apps in a cross pattern, rather than a floating cloud, like on the Apple Watch, which would work better on this format. Sometimes this handset feels a bit like a badge to wear on your clothes or pin to a backpack.
The port and speakers at the “bottom” look interesting. But then again,were strange devices. People have been using banana shaped phones and hamburger shaped house phones indoors for years now. And apparently people consider Salvador Dali’s lobster phone art…
Apple Inc. launched the iPad mini 4 on September 9 at its “Hey Siri” event. The latest tablet is a refreshed version of the iPad mini 3. The device is said to be better than its predecessor with some key enhancements in certain areas. The tablet has been upgraded as lighter, faster, and thinner.
During the event, the iPad Pro was presented as “the biggest news in iPad since iPad.” So, the iPad mini 4 was not the center of attention on stage, as it was not given any over-the-top design enhancements in comparison to its previous version.
On the other hand, the iPad mini 3 was launched last year. It is a pretty decent tablet that came out with a gold color option and a fingerprint sensor feature to distinguish itself from the iPad mini 2.
The two tablets iPad mini 4 and 3 are similar with some specs, but a few highlighted differences might help consumers decide whether to upgrade to the latest version or not. Here’s a how the two models stack up against each other.
Apple usually updates displays of its devices, but that does not seem to be the case here. The iPad mini 4 sports a 7.9 inch LCD Retina display along with 2048 x 1536 pixels resolution, similar to the iPad mini 3. The latest iteration has the same Touch ID fingerprint sensor below the home button.
The upgrade in design was with the thickness. The new version is now thinner at 6.1mm from 7.5mm thick iPad mini 3. The resolution is not 4K quality but is still decent for a tablet to watch videos or play games.
The company was also able to make the tablet lighter from 331g to 299g.
Power and Performance
The Verge reported that the iPad mini 4 is very similar to the power and performance of the iPad Air 2. The iPad mini 4 is powered by an A8 chipset processor with 2GB of RAM, which is a huge upgrade from the A7 chip with 1 GB in iPad mini 3.
The new tablet also jumped from iOS 8 to 9. The real difference in performance can be felt through the new iteration being prepackaged with the iOS 9 along with new software updates ensured to provide better user experience. A user will have to download the iOS 9 and install it, if they have the iPad mini 3.
To refine the latest device by making it lighter and thinner, Apple had to move around some built-ins to make the upgrades better. The 7.9 inch latest tablet’s battery has 5,124 mAh, while the iPad mini 3 battery has 6,471 mAh. With that said, both tablets can survive a longer life of up to 10 hours.
Another upgrade to be noted is the 8 megapixel from 5 megapixel rear camera in the refreshed version. However, the 1.2 megapixel front camera is still the same for both devices.
Pricing and Availability
The entry level iPad mini 4 is priced at $399 that includes the Wi-Fi only-version, while the cellular plus Wi-Fi version costs $529. Both devices are available in the 16, 64, 128 GB models. The iPad mini 3 is priced at $400, while the cellular version of the iteration starts at $500.
Apple stopped selling the iPad mini 3, since the latest iteration was announced to become a replacement. If consumers wish to buy the older version, then they will have to contact third-party retailers.
The Verdict
The iPad mini 4 simply wins the match. It is the obvious winner as it is quicker, lighter, and slimmer. Considering the price, the models are almost the same with the entry-level Wi-Fi models, so consumers can make the smart choice and opt for the better version.
Images have been leaked from Geekbench test results showing that the iPhone 7 Plus is set to feature a 3GB RAM and 2.37GHz dual-core ARM processor. MacRumors picked up on images that were originally found on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo for the hardware string "iPhone9,2". According to the post, the iPhone has scored 3548 for the single-score and 6430 for the multi-core version.
As pointed out by MacRumors, this beats the score obtained by the A9 processor; the old chip managed a score of 2490 for the single-core version and 4341 for the multi-core variant. The iPhone 6s Plus, which is identified by the hardware string "iPhone8,2", features 2GB of memory and a 1.84GHz dual-core A9 chip. The A10 also beats the 2.2GHz A9X chip – used in the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The A9X chip scored 3224 and 5466 for the single-core and multi-core respectively.
It is interesting to note that Apple might still want to differentiate between the iPhone 7 Plus and the basic 4.7-inch version by giving them different RAMs. The iPhone 7 Plus is bound to get 3GB of RAM due to its dual-lens rear camera, but it is not clear whether Apple will do the same with the iPhone 7. However, given that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were both allotted 2GB of RAM, there is a possibility that Apple might give both smartphone variants 3GB of RAM to clearly show the upgrade in smartphones. Rival Samsung offers 4GB of RAM with the Galaxy S7, so Apple might feel tempted to offer a memory range closer to its rivals.
Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets are expected to be released on September 16, with the press event set to take place on September 6. The various leaks show that the new iPhone will not differ markedly from the iPhone 6s variants, at least on the outside. This is why Apple might focus on internet upgrades such as better cameras. A 3D Touch Home button is expected to be used, which will effectively port trackpad technology from the MacBooks to Apple’s popular flagship smartphone.
Among other rumors, Apple is expected to ditch the 3.5 mm headphone port to introduce its own Lightning-equipped EarPods. Users will get one of these headphones with the iPhone box, but should they happen to lose or break the earphones, they cannot replace them with any standard headphones. This can be a headache for some users, particularly if they preferred using their own headphones. If users are fans of Beats headphones, they might be able to get their hands on Beats Lightning headphones. Understandably, those will not come cheap.
All in all, it will be interesting to see if the rumors are true. Given how most of the rumors surrounding the Galaxy Note 7 were on point, one can expect similar results for the iPhone. Apple needed to innovate to recapture the interest surrounding Samsung’s Galaxy range of smartphones, with the S7 believed to be the best smartphone out there. The press event in September should shed some more light on whether Apple has provided significant upgrades to beat its rivals.
