Apple iPhone XS images leak ahead of the launch; new gold colour confirmed

Apple is hosting its annual iPhone reveal event on September 12, where it is expected to take the wraps off brand new iPhones and perhaps also give us more on its home speaker and audio range. However, ahead of the launch, images of the next-gen bezel-less iPhone have already emerged.

Likely to be called the iPhone XS, it will be the successor to the current iPhone X, and feature a new gold colour, according to 9to5 Mac which revealed the images. Interestingly, Apple's event invite also features the same gold colour, thereby confirming that the iPhone will feature the new gold and black blend.

The images also reveal that the next-in-line iPhone will continue to feature the bezel-less display and have a larger sibling featuring a 6.5-inch display while the base version will be at 5.8-inch. Both the models are likely to be called iPhone XS with one featuring an OLED display.

At the same event, Apple is also expected to unveil the next-gen Watch Series 4.

iOS 12 allows users to flag pesky calls, spam messages: Apple to Trai

Tech titan Apple has informed telecom regulator Trai that the new version of its operating system includes a feature that would allow users to report unwanted messages and calls as spam, sources said.

The issue of reporting unsolicited telemarketing calls and messages has been a major bone of contention between the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the US-based company.

According to sources, Apple in its letter dated June 19 said it has recently announced a new feature in iOS 12 (its operating system) to enhance spam SMS and call reporting.

This new capability, the company said, provides developers with the ability to create an app extension that allows users to report both unwanted messages and calls as spam.

To report the unsolicited communication, the user will have to enable an Unwanted Communication extension in the Settings app, it added.

Why iPhone is losing the race and Apple needs to rethink its India strategy

With Apple shipping less than 1 million iPhones in the first half of 2018, which is fewer than 2 per cent of the estimated 60 million smartphones that were shipped in India during the same period, Apple seems to be struggling to compete with its rivals in the country, reports The Verge.

According to the report, Apple's rival Samsung shipped 17.4 million while Xiaomi shipped 19 million smartphones to India in the same time period.

The Verge reports that this slump in iPhone sales comes after a steady growth in the numbers for the company during 2016 and 2017 when it shipped 2.6 million and 3.2 million units. The report says that iPhones smartphone market share has dropped to 1 per cent, which is its lowest in recent history, as of April-June quarter.

Devices priced in the top slots (Apple's iPhone X 256GB is priced at over Rs 100,000) in a price sensitive market like India has been a reason for Apple's struggle in India, The Verge report says.

Apple's most popular devices in India are iPhone SE and iPhone 6 which were launched two and four years ago. With available discounts, both the iPhone SE and iPhone 6 fall in the bracket of Rs 20,000 - Rs 30,000 which makes them more accessible to the Indian audience and hence the popularity.

Move over iPhone X! Apple planning to unveil 3 new iPhones this year

Apple is reportedly gearing up to introduce three new iPhones this year and one of them will be more popular than the others, a top analyst with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities has said.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the most famous analyst with KGI Securities when it comes to Apple, the Cupertino-headquartered giant will aim to sell 100 million units of "a 6.1-inch iPhone it's planning to release this year".

"The 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will apparently resemble the iPhone X with a similar full-screen design, but at a more accessible price for customers.

The analyst expects this new iPhone to be priced to replace iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, as cheap as $699," 9to5Mac reported late on Wednesday.

"The replacement for iPhone X is believed to consist of a three-SKU 2018 iPhone lineup. A new iPhone X style device with improved internals, a larger 'iPhone X Plus' with a 6.5-inch OLED display and the 6.1-inch LCD model," the report added.

Flipkart ranking: These top smartphones got buyers drooling in 2017

The year 2017 was a great one for the smartphone industry, despite the overall consumer market being somewhat slow in India. While some of the revolutionary features like the 18:9 aspect ratio screens and dual-camera set-ups excited the tech geeks as well as common buyers alike, futuristic technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence became mainstream in smartphones.

Simultaneously, there was seen a major shift in users’ preference, too – while buyers earlier were more after devices carrying powerful innards, the year 2017 saw them drifting more towards exciting features – along with top-tier specifications adding value to capable smartphones.

Home-grown e-commerce major on Friday released its pick of best smartphones in various segments, based on the shopping trends seen across online shoppers on its platform. The company claimed to have arrived at its selection “after analysing the shopping carts of over 150 bn shoppers”.

“With the e-commerce landscape drastically growing in India, the smartphone category continues to be a frontrunner among online shoppers. Flipkart flagship sales events, exclusive partnerships and innovative schemes like ‘no-cost EMI’, ‘product exchange offers’ and ‘buy now, pay later’ has exponentially impacted the sales on the online smartphone category, specifically the budget and mid- range segment,” Flipkart said in a statement.

Here is a snapshot of Flipkart’s top picks in various segments:

iPhone X goes off shelf at some retail channels as Apple cuts margin by 30%

Apple Inc has reportedly slashed retailers’ margins on the anniversary-edition iPhone X by nearly 30 per cent, according to a news report in the Economic Times.

While other brand manufacturers offer retailers’ a margin of 10-15 per cent on their latest mobiles, Apple has been offering 6.5 per cent on the newly launched iPhone X. Now, the company has reportedly reduced the retailers’ margin to 4.5 per cent, which is almost 30 per cent less.

Subhash Chandra, managing director at Sangeetha Mobiles, told the Economic Times that the margins have been reduced from 6.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent and it further reduces to mere 1.5-2 per cent if the customer opts to pay by card for the iPhone X.


According to the report, India’s leading brands -- Samsung and Xiaomi -- offer more than double the margin that Apple offers -- around 12-15 per cent. Other mobile phone manufacturers, especially Chinese brands such as Oppo and Vivo, offer higher than usual margins to retailers to gain market share.

For offline retailers, rising competition from the e-commerce industry is already a major concern. Now, some of the retail channels have stopped stocking iPhones due to lack of control on retail pricing in the online and offline markets.

READ MORE

iPhone X debut: Will slow supply dampen Apple's hopes in India?

After facing a lacklustre response to iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus globally, including in India, Apple has now placed its bet on successful delivery of "super premium" iPhone X that aims for a scheduled arrival on November 3.

In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and "off the charts" pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn't make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

The scenario suggests that people will have to wait long before they can grab an iPhone X. Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.

The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64 GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256 GB variant.

According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, supply issues will have three main implications for Apple.

"Either the demand for iPhone X will shift to subsequent quarters or some part of the demand will be absorbed by iPhone 8 series if supply is delayed for long. In both the cases, it won't have much impact on Apple as its user base will remain within the iOS ecosystem," Pathak told IANS.

Apple iPhone X pre-booking starts today; base model priced at Rs 89,000

After launching iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple is gearing up to bring its anniversary edition iPhone X to India on November 3. The smartphone will be available for pre-registration through e-commerce platforms starting today.

Apple iPhone X will be available in two colour variants – silver and space grey – and both the variants will come with two storage options – 64 GB and 256 GB. The price of iPhone X will start at Rs 89,000 for the base model.

In terms of design and features, the iPhone X sports glossy stainless steel frame body covered on the front and back by a glass design. It has a wide 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display. The glassy back is accentuated by a vertically placed 12-megapixel dual camera set-up, which supports optical image stabilisation (OIS).

On the front, a new 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera enables auto image stabilisation and precise exposure control, and brings the portrait mode to the front camera for stunning selfies with a depth-of-field (Bokeh) effect.

The iPhone X dual camera set-up boasts a f/1.8 aperture on the wide-angle camera and an improved f/2.4 aperture on the telephoto camera for better photos and videos. A new quad LED True Tone Flash offers twice the uniformity of light and includes Slow Sync, which brings more uniformly lit backgrounds and foregrounds.

The cameras on the iPhone X are custom-tuned for the augmented reality (AR) experience. Each camera is individually calibrated with new gyroscopes and accelerometers for accurate motion tracking.

Apple iOS 11 to launch today: Here are key features coming to iPhone, iPad

Apple will on Tuesday released the the iOS 11, which it had unveiled on June 5, for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch users. The new iteration of the operating system makes a complete shift from the previous versions and now utilises latest technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality to power the OS. Here’s a quick look at the top features of iOS 11, time of the new software will release, and the full list of compatible devices.

New features of iOS 11:
Customisable dock, files app and drag & drop make iPad even more powerful

iOS 11 Photo: Apple The iOS 11 makes multitasking on iPads even more powerful, with a new customisable dock that provides quick access to frequently used apps and documents from any screen, and a redesigned app switcher makes it easier to move between pairs of active apps, used in Split View and now Slide Over. The new files app keeps everything in one place, whether files are stored locally, in the iCloud Drive or across other providers like Box, Dropbox and more. And, with drag
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Google Pixel vs Apple iPhone 8: Know everything about much awaited devices

Google and Apple are gearing up to unveil their next generation smartphones soon -- Pixels and iPhones. The next iteration of Pixel devices and iPhones are the most awaited smartphones this year.

This year, Apple is expected to launch two upgraded versions of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus i.e. iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus, and an anniversary edition ‘iPhone 8’ that has been hitting the rumour mills and is touted to feature dual rear camera and curved edge-to-edge OLED screen. The next generation iPhones are speculated to feature screen size ranging from 4.7-inch to 5.8-inch.

The iPhone 8 is speculated to feature faster A11 processor, designed on 10nm production unit, iOS 11, virtual home button, cameras with augmented reality app support, 3D facial recognition and infrared sensor for face recognition in low-light.

As for pricing, reports hint that the basic version of the next generation iPhones may cost in excess of $1,000.

Apple takes on Samsung, iPhone 8 to start at $850-900

Apple's pricing strategy for its iPhones to be released in 2017 is predicted to be lower than previous versions and the rumoured high-end iPhone 8 with an OLED display is expected to cost upwards of $1,000, but a base 64GB model could start at $850 to $900 in the US.

"This price point would be similar to Samsung's new Galaxy S8+, which starts at $840 to $850," macrumors.com quoted Steven Milunovich, Analyst, financial services firm UBS, as saying.

iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will start at around $649 and $749, respectively.

In addition to an edge-to-edge OLED display with narrow bezels, the iPhone 8 is expected to come with wireless charging, no physical Home button, and potentially 3D facial recognition and/or iris scanning.

The upcoming phone are also rumoured to equip "True Color iPad Pro" screen technology for the first time.

The screen technology uses advanced four-channel ambient light sensors to automatically adapt the colour and intensity of the display to match the light in your environment. Which means reading anywhere is more natural and comfortable - almost like looking at a sheet of paper.

The full spectral sensing ambient light sensor will be added across the iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and iPhone 8. (READ MORE)

Apple to start India manufacturing in coming months with iPhone SE: Report

Apple Inc will in the coming months start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE models at a contract manufacturer's plant in the technology hub of Bengaluru, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp is setting up a plant in Bengaluru to focus solely on assembling iPhones, a separate source told Reuters earlier this month.

Apple's move comes as it seeks to boost its share in the world's fastest growing major mobile market, where handsets far cheaper than Apple's iPhones dominate. It also comes as smartphone sales growth is slowing in Asia's other massive market, China.


To lower prices, Apple has been seeking to set up local production and has been in talks with the Indian federal government regarding issues such as tax concessions.

The industry source told Reuters the initial manufacturing of the iPhone SE model was not contingent on those concessions.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Economic Times newspaper earlier on Friday reported Apple planned to initially assemble 300,000 to 400,000 iPhone SE handsets in India. The industry source told Reuters the numbers would be substantially lower to begin with.(Read More)

Apple has a list of demands before it can start making iPhones in India

For months, tech-giant Apple has been seeking ways to enter the Indian market while upholding 'business facets' - minimum risk and maximum profit. However, if Tim Cook thought he would have it easy with India, he's probably mistaken - Indians are admirably better at setting terms and conditions of a bargain than most others.

Last month, Apple announced plans to make iPhones for the Indian market in Bengaluru in association with Wistron, a Taiwanese OEM manufacturer for Apple and will start production by April 2017.

According to reports published in The Business Standard, Foxconn, the biggest contract manufacturer for Apple has also been roped in to set up a manufacturing unit in India.

Apple wants to replicate its China success in India - But it has conditions that the government needs to look into.

What Apple wants from the government

1. 15-year custom duty exemption
2. Concessions like relaxation in labelling rules

3. Used smartphones to assemble locally

What does the government have to say about this?

Read Here

Apple's iPhone, iPad a big hit this holiday season, beat Samsung

Breaking News - The holiday season was a big hit for Apple's iPhone, as Yahoo-owned research firm Flurry revealed that during the critical shopping period between December 19 to 25, Apple's iPhone and iPad accounted for 44 per cent of all mobile activations - much higher than Samsung.

The research firm also revealed that Samsung saw its many devices combine to account for 21 per cent of all activations during the period, while Huawei was in third place with three per cent market share, followed by several other manufacturers, including LG and Amazon, at two per cent share each.

According to a report in the Fortune on Thursday, Apple appears to be the single leader during the last week of holiday shopping as the data shared by the Flurry gives a picture from December 19 only, therefore not offering any clear idea about the rest of the holiday shopping season.

Last year, Apple's devices accounted for 49.1 per cent of all activations during the same period while Samsung last year accounted for 19.8 per cent of all activations.

"Part of Apple's troubles in 2016 might have been a shift in how consumers are spending money on new mobile devices. Between December 19 and 25, full-size tablets like the iPad Pro or iPad Air 2 only accounted for 9 per cent of all mobile device purchases. In 2013, their share of sales stood at 17 per cent," the report added.(Read More)