Apple unveils affordable iPad: 9.7-inch display, 8MP camera with Pencil

Apple executives said the company will release a iPad model that works with its Apple Pencil accessory and features an upgraded A10 Fusion chip, the same CPU that powers the iPhone 7

Apple Inc on Tuesday kicked off an event in Chicago where it announced a new Apple iPad that would work with its Apple Pencil accessory aimed at helping it grab more of the U.S. education market.

The tablet will have a starting price of $299 for students and $329 for consumers. Tech companies are battling for dominance in US schools with inexpensive devices and laptops that are geared towards classroom use and seen as a way to hook young consumers.

Education-geared laptops running operating systems by Alphabet Inc's Google or Microsoft Corp can be had for less than $200.

Apple hit hard on the education theme on Tuesday, with school bells and announcements over a public address system directing press and teachers into an auditorium at Lane Tech College Prep High School. Apple board member and former US Vice President Al Gore mingled with the crowd.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook opened the keynote with a nod to politics, saying "we are deeply inspired by the courage of the students who walked out" and marched on Washington, advocating for stricter gun control laws following a school shooting in Florida. The line elicited loud cheers from students seated at the rear of the auditorium.

The Chicago event comes during a spring buying season when many schools are making purchasing decisions for the upcoming school year.

Apple executives said the company will release a iPad model that works with its Apple Pencil accessory and features an upgraded A10 Fusion chip, the same CPU that powers the iPhone 7. The company also released a new version of its word processing apps for the iPad designed to work with the pencil and allow students to take handwritten notes more easily.

Apple made up just 17 percent of the K-12 U.S. educational market in the third quarter, according to data from Futuresource Consulting. Meanwhile 60 percent of mobile computing shipments to schools ran Google's Chrome operating system, and 22 percent had Windows.

Chromebooks sold by Dell Technologies Inc can be had for as little as $189. Microsoft last year introduced an education-focused laptop from partner Lenovo Group Ltd running Window 10 S.

Apple in recent years made changes to its operating system so that more than one student can log into an iPad, and to its software to let teachers better manage groups of students. (more)

Apple reportedly planning to release cheaper MacBook Air this year

MacBook Air, launched with the aid of then Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in 2008, has now not been updated on the grounds that 2015

Apple is reportedly making plans to release a greater affordable version of the thirteen-inch MacBook Air within the 2nd quarter of 2018, the media suggested.

Apple is likely to launch a new MacBook Air "with a lower charge tag" at some point of the second quarter of 2018, that means we have to see it faster in preference to later, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities was quoted as saying to 9to5mac on Saturday.

The analyst expects the more affordable MacBook Air will assist push MacBook shipments up via 10-15 in line with cent this year.

MacBook Air, launched with the aid of then Apple CEO Steve Jobs on the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in 2008, has not been up to date considering that 2015 as Apple has shifted attention in the direction of the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook pro.

The thirteen-inch MacBook Air, a popular choice for university college students, is presently offered starting at $999 for 128GB of PCIe-based totally storage, a 1.8GHz twin-core i5 processor, and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

The device remaining saw a minor update at the global builders conference (WWDC) in June 2017, with a barely faster processor, and 8GB of RAM as a default.

Kuo says that KGI is "advantageous" on shipments of AirPods and predicts the refreshed version will come in the second

half of of the yr, using strong 12 months over yr boom.

similarly, Kuo predicts on the entry-level 6.1-inch model of iPhones this 12 months.

Kuo additionally notes that call for for HomePod has been "mediocre" to date.

basic, demand for the clever speaker primarily based on "transport time" is "impartial", the record stated.

Apple reportedly planning to release cheaper MacBook Air this year

MacBook Air, launched with the aid of then Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in 2008, has now not been updated on the grounds that 2015

Apple is reportedly making plans to release a greater affordable version of the thirteen-inch MacBook Air within the 2nd quarter of 2018, the media suggested.

Apple is likely to launch a new MacBook Air "with a lower charge tag" at some point of the second quarter of 2018, that means we have to see it faster in preference to later, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities was quoted as saying to 9to5mac on Saturday.

The analyst expects the more affordable MacBook Air will assist push MacBook shipments up via 10-15 in line with cent this year.

MacBook Air, launched with the aid of then Apple CEO Steve Jobs on the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in 2008, has not been up to date considering that 2015 as Apple has shifted attention in the direction of the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook pro.

The thirteen-inch MacBook Air, a popular choice for university college students, is presently offered starting at $999 for 128GB of PCIe-based totally storage, a 1.8GHz twin-core i5 processor, and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

The device remaining saw a minor update at the global builders conference (WWDC) in June 2017, with a barely faster processor, and 8GB of RAM as a default.

Kuo says that KGI is "advantageous" on shipments of AirPods and predicts the refreshed version will come in the second

half of of the yr, using strong 12 months over yr boom.

similarly, Kuo predicts on the entry-level 6.1-inch model of iPhones this 12 months.

Kuo additionally notes that call for for HomePod has been "mediocre" to date.

basic, demand for the clever speaker primarily based on "transport time" is "impartial", the record stated.

Apple helped UK investigate terrorist attacks, says Tim Cook

'We have been cooperating with UK govt on some attacks besides law enforcement matters', he added

Company News : Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the company has helped UK officials investigate terror attacks, while reiterating his dismay over US plans to quit the Paris agreement on climate change.

"We have been cooperating with the UK government not only in law enforcement kind of matters but on some of the attacks," Cook said during a Bloomberg Television interview on Monday. "I cannot speak on detail on that. But in cases when we have information and they have gone through the lawful process we don’t just give it but we do it very promptly."

A third attack in the UK in less than three months has put more pressure on technology companies to prevent their products and services from being used by violent extremists. Tim Cook didn’t specify which attacks led to the company’s cooperation. Apple’s high privacy standards and tough encryption have been criticised by law enforcement officials and the company clashed last year in court with the FBI over the issue.

Cook said on Monday that Apple’s encryption is misunderstood. "It doesn’t mean no information. Metadata exists and that’s very important for building a profile," he added. "The reality is that cyberattacks on people and governments, these affect your safety and security." Cook also said he didn’t join any of US President Donald Trump’s business advisory councils because he thinks those groups aren’t "terribly productive." “It wasn’t about not wanting to advise on something that we thought should be heard,” he added. Cook said he will continue to advise the president on matters that are important to him and the US, such as the Paris climate accord. Trump decided last week to pull the US out of the pact.

“He didn’t decide what I wanted him to decide,” Cook said of the president. “He decided wrong. It’s not in the best interest of the United States what he decided.” Cook spoke after Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, where the company unveiled a new internet-connected speaker called HomePod and updated its Siri digital assistant to wed users more tightly to its growing slate of products and services. (more)

Check out the latest Breaking Apple Updates

Apple releases red iPhones, cuts prices on lower-end iPads

Red iPhone : Apple is refreshing and cutting prices on two of its iPads, but held back on updating its higher-end tablets.

A much-speculated 10.5-inch iPad didn't materialise, nor did new versions of iPad Pros aimed at businesses and creative professionals.

Apple unveiled the new iPads through a press release rather than a staged event, the opposite of the process reserved for bigger product releases, which typically are unveiled in September or October, in time for the holiday shopping season.

Apple AirPods review: Seamless connectivity without wires

Apple AirPods : I've been using Apple’s EarPods as my primary mobile headset for more than four years. Thankfully, they fit my ear and are quite comfortable, thus I’m able to fall asleep wearing them. And I do so nearly every night, when they are connected to my iPod.

Thus, after the jokes about losing one’s AirPods (Rs 15,400) died down, I was interested in taking it through its paces. Popping them out of the charging case, the AirPods paired very easily and very fast with my iPhone; and all my other Apple devices. Next, I went out for a run, wearing as bandana for fear of losing the AirPods.

Also Read : Gionee launches A1 smartphone in India with selfie-focused 16 MP camera

Apple unveils its cheapest iPad

Apple cheapest iPad : Apple introduced a revamped version of its most popular-sized iPad at the cheapest price ever, and a shiny red iPhone 7, whose sales will help to combat AIDS.

Apple unveiled a new 9.7-inch iPad with a brighter Retina display starting at $329, and a special edition red-aluminum finish iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, part of the company’s decade-long partnership with (RED), which contributes to the Global Fund to fight HIV and AIDS.

Apple's next big thing: Augmented reality

Tim Cook has talked up a lot of technologies since becoming Apple Inc’s chief executive in 2011. Driverless cars. Artificial intelligence. Streaming television. But no technology has fired up Cook quite like augmented reality (AR), which overlays images, video and games on the real world. Cook has likened AR’s game-changing potential to that of the smartphone. At some point, he said last year, we will all “have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day. It will become that much a part of you”.

After Twitter, PM set to conquer app space

After Twitter, PM set to conquer app space

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently became the most followed Indian on Twitter beating film star Amitabh Bachchan, is now setting new records on his own ‘Narendra Modi mobile app’. The app, often referred to as ‘NM on the go’, has already been downloaded 2.5 million times. While the PM’s official app was launched in June 2015, it was Apple CEO Tim Cook who brought it alive two months ago. Cook launched the upgraded version of the app in June 2016 during his India visit.

The PM wants his app to connect with people in the remotest places of the country. It is being seen as a powerful tool of direct communication, ahead of several state elections next year and then the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, an official pointed out. Modi is looking at a growth of at least 20 times in the use of his app, translating to a user base of at least 50 million in the months to come, sources have indicated. The number might still be far from blockbuster games such as Pokémon GO, Angry Birds, Talking Tom and Candy Crush, but the PM’s app could catch up with many others.

A look at Google’s Play Store shows the number of downloads for some of the popular apps. Among the free apps, the Indian Railways train status app has seen an estimated five million downloads and the number is the same for IRCTC as well as SBI Anywhere.(more)

Movies & cricket serious business for Apple CEO Tim Cook's future India plans

Apple chief Executive Officer Tim Cook's visit to India, mixing plenty of leisure with work, has set off comparisons with other tech giants.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's trips to the country in 2014 and 2015 lasted for about two days. Microsoft chief Satya Nadella will come at the end of this month only for a day, the same as the duration of his previous official visit in November 2015.

Google's Sundar Pichai was in the country for two days last year. Bill Gates' first visit as the CEO of Microsoft in 1997 was short - barely two days.

Apart from limiting the number of days in an official visit to two or three, CEOs of large multinational corporations have mostly stuck to business on such trips - meeting business and political leaders, interacting with students on college campuses, and doing big-ticket launches.

Perhaps, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was a little out of the box as he went on a road show in a supply truck wearing a sherwani and waving a $2-billion note (that's the investment committed in the India market so far) in Bengaluru in September 2014. Bezos also spent almost a week in the country. But while onlookers may wonder how Cook had the time to experience even cricket and Bollywood, travelling thousands of kilometres within the country, those in the know pointed out it was more about business than just fun for the American tech giant executives.

If Apple is to stay in India, surely cricket and Bollywood cannot be ignored, seems to have been the thought behind Cook's just-concluded visit.

"He came to India with a very serious road map. Bollywood and cricket were surely on his mind for future business prospects," said film-maker Mukesh Bhatt, who was one of the people to interact with Cook when he was in Mumbai.

He said Cook spoke to everyone on the sets of Raaz Reboot, a film produced by brothers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt, with humility and like an ordinary man. "He was moved to see that Apple devices were being used in the shoot."

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