The New Apple TV is Now Available for Pre-Order
Apple's newest Apple TV is now available for pre-order. Here's what you could get:
32GB
$149.00
64GB
$199.00
The device should ship on or around October 30th.
Month: October 2015
How To: Stop Force Closing Apps on your iOS Devices – Here's Why
For years, iOS has given users the ability to force close a running app by double-clicking on the Home Button, selecting the app, and then swiping up.
But many iOS users (yes, including me) think that by doing so, that it is freeing up RAM or other resources to make the device run faster. The truth is - IT ISN'T.
Apple's iOS platform does allow for intelligent multitasking, meaning some apps will operate or finish a task in the background, then automatically close.
However, the iOS app switcher shows all apps that have been opened on an iPhone or iPad, regardless of whether or not they are actually running in the background.
Misconceptions about the iOS app switcher have led many users to adopt the habit of double pressing the home button and swiping up on all apps, constantly, in a futile effort to improve their handset's battery life or performance.
The truth is, that habit is a waste of time.
For proof, restart your phone, then double-press the home button without launching anything. You'll see all of the same recent apps in the app switcher, despite the fact that iOS has been completely rebooted and nothing has been opened.
The only time you should force an app to close is if it becomes unresponsive. For example, if you're using Facebook and the app has crashed, return to the home screen, then double press the home button, then swipe up on the Facebook window to force it to close. Reopening Facebook should return the app to its normal state.
If you're truly worried about battery life and performance, actual effective ways of improving it include lowering your screen brightness, manually turning on the iOS 9 Low Power Mode, or digging into settings to disable Background App Refresh (under Settings, then General).
Parts of this tip came from: AppleInsider.com.
32GB or 64GB? Which Apple TV is Right for You?
“The new Apple TV — technically Apple’s fourth-generation set top box — comes in two models with two different flash storage tiers: 32 GB and 64 GB,” Rene Ritchie writes for iMore. “That’s because the new Apple TV also comes with an App Store and a way to download software, including games. So, is 32 GB enough for you to save a few bucks, or do you really need to spend a little more and double down on 64 GB?”
“Apple never wants you to try to download an app, find out your Apple TV storage is full and have to tell you to delete apps or content before trying your download again. So, they’re using ‘on-demand resources’ for the Apple TV to intelligent manage the local storage on your behalf,” Ritchie writes. “If you only ever play a few games, use a few apps, and watch a few movies or shows at a time, 32 GB of storage should be enough to keep what you need local. If you play a lot of games, use a lot of apps, and watch a lot of movies and shows at a time, you’ll want 64 GB.”
“Another point to consider is how much bandwidth you have. Apple TV will cache content on the flash storage, so if your bandwidth is low, you won’t have to worry about re-streaming or re-downloading content you use frequently,” Ritchie writes. “The more storage you have, the more room you have to cache that content.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
Does Apple Have What it Takes for the Smart Home Market?
“Along with HealthKit, one of the marquee features announced with the launch of iOS 8 was Apple’s HomeKit, a home automation framework designed to get separate smart home devices talking to each other, all controlled centrally by a iPhone or iPad,” Jo Best reports for ZDNet.
“With the home automation market set to be worth $71bn by 2018, according to Juniper Research, it’s no surprise that Apple is interested in staking its claim to the smart home in the same way it has the smartphone,” Best reports. “But for a long time after HomeKit launched, there was little sign of an ecosystem building around it or high profile supporters.”
“Now, however, the first wave of HomeKit hardware products by third-party manufacturers are beginning to hit the shelves: the last couple of weeks have seen Philips launch its HomeKit Hue Bridge for controlling home lighting, while August has unveiled a HomeKit-connected door lock. These products join a handful of others from companies including Ecobee, Honeywell, Incipio, Insteon, and Lutron,” Best reports. “With the software in place and hardware now trickling out, are we seeing the first coming of HomeKit – or a platform that’s yet to, and may never, catch on? NextMarket Insights is predicting the former, with 180 million HomeKit devices shipped by 2020. ‘Apple’s track record of creating excitement for nascent markets is unparalleled,’ Michael Wolf, the company’s chief analyst, wrote in a recent blog.”
Read more in the full article here.
Source: MacDailyNews.com
