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from the another-bite-at-the-tablet dept.
Though it has been rumored to be in the works for a few years now, the big Apple announcement on Sept. 9 was the iPad Pro, a 12.9" tablet with a screen resolution of 2732×2048. The price starts at $799 for the 32 GB Wi-Fi version, increases to $949 for 128 GB of storage, and $1079 for 128 GB and LTE cellular connectivity. Two accessories are available: a $99 Apple Pencil with a 240 Hz input scanning rate, and a $169 Smart Keyboard, a form and price which may be familiar to you if you have seen Microsoft's Surface. Battery life of the iPad Pro should reach 10 hours, comparable to previous iPads. The iPad Mini 4 is a 7.85" tablet. Mini 4 weighs up to 304g (0.670 lbs) while the Pro weighs up to 723g (1.594 lbs).
The A9X chip in the iPad Pro will be built on either Samsung's 14nm or TSMC's 16nm FinFet process. Apple claims the CPU is 80% faster and the GPU is twice as fast compared to the A8X SoC. This would make the CPU 22 times more powerful than the one in the original iPad, and the GPU 360 times more powerful.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus replace the previous iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models. The new versions use the Apple A9 SoC with 70% faster CPU and 90% faster GPU performance than the A8. The M9 motion coprocessor is built onto the SoC, and Apple has added always-on Siri activation, similar to the Moto X. The display adds a "precise force sensing layer" called "3D Touch," similar to the "Force Touch" on Apple Watch. The front-facing camera has been increased from 1.2 to 5 megapixels, and can use the display as a flash to enable... low light selfies! The rear camera can now record 4K resolution (presumably Ultra HD) video.
The new Apple TV will cost a minimum of $149, more than double the $69 price of previous versions. The SoC inside has jumped from Apple A5 to Apple A8, and RAM has been quadrupled to 2 GB, which should allow it to act as a console, running a broader selection of more powerful games and apps. The tvOS UI can be controlled using voice recognition (Siri) or by remote. The remote comes with a "touch surface" and dedicated Siri button to initiate voice input.
iOS 9 and watchOS 2 will launch on Sept. 16. OS X El Capitan will launch on Sept. 30 with unchanged system requirements from the previous version, Yosemite.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday September 10 2015, @12:22PM
LoL, we had 4:3 12" displays in 1985. And keyboards. Looks like desktop PCs are slowly creeping back into fashion. Good.
But not really going full circle, more like a spiral, there being differences and improvements in detail, not principle, like memory and resolution. But a camera?! Who TF would hold up one of these things as a camera?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @01:13PM
Koala Pad, Light Pen...same old same old.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday September 10 2015, @01:15PM
The weight of the very first iPad was 680g (Wi-Fi) to 730g (Wi-Fi + 3G), despite the display being 3.2 inches smaller. The iPad Pro weighs 713 - 723 grams.
The original iPad didn't have a front or rear camera, but standalone digital cameras can easily weigh as much as the iPad Pro (or a lot less). It might still be awkward to hold up the Pro and take a picture, but it's not impossible. You could also put it on a tripod and record images/video that way... but using the iPhone 6s would be far better.
As for the front-facing camera, if you add the keyboard/stand, it is the equivalent of a laptop webcam. I think Apple made a mistake by making the front-facing camera much worse than the rear camera... wouldn't Pro-fessionals want to use it for video conferencing?
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(Score: 2) by kadal on Thursday September 10 2015, @01:28PM
I think Apple made a mistake by making the front-facing camera much worse than the rear camera... wouldn't Pro-fessionals want to use it for video conferencing?
Good point! I think they've been designing 2 camera devices for so long, they haven't rethought why the back camera is better than the front.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Thursday September 10 2015, @03:50PM
Who is their right mind is streaming 4k resolution for video conferencing?
(Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Thursday September 10 2015, @04:02PM
How about 1080p? As far as I can tell, the iPad Pro has a front-facing cam only capable of 720p, and a rear-facing cam that isn't useful when you are using it with a keyboard. Unless you want to sit in the corner of the coffee shop and film everybody.
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(Score: 2, Insightful) by h2oliu on Thursday September 10 2015, @01:34PM
Another use for the camera is for someone doing a site visit, or similar. Take a picture, write some notes. For example an inspection being done where you could get a picture, and a comment straight on the item to show where the issue is.
(Score: 1) by Pax on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:54PM
SPOT ON! we get a choice of Samsung slabs or Apple ipads.
it's funny seeing all the older techs use android devices (bar one ) and the younger guys love their ipads.
The company we contract to supplies most of the IT Equipment to promoters offices for the Edinburgh festivals(for there are many all at the same time)
Equipment borks and goes tits up frequently (PEBKAC is the usual issue) but when they are damaged or a faulty occurs...
.... whip out the tablet, take a pic, scribble notes, submit report.. jobs a good un.
They can also help with "WTF?" moments.. a quick pic of things for a alternative POV can be helpful too.
Also handy for service manuals too.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @03:47PM
That jerk in front of me at the concert.