Apple : Will the Apple iTV come with Mini version and iRing control?

---

• Will the Apple iTV come with Mini version and iRing control?
• In Depth: iOS 7 release date, news and rumours
• Apple call waiting patent could make being on hold less boring

Will the Apple iTV come with Mini version and iRing control? Posted: Here's a slightly unusual Apple nugget that's sure to divide opinion - the company's much-touted iTV might be controlled via a ring. At least that's what we're hearing from Brian White, the same analyst who said that Apple would be introducing fingerprint scanning technology. In a note to investors, prompted by a trip to component suppliers and seen by AppleInsider, he said that the TV will come with an iRing and that Asian suppliers are busy working on the hi-tech jewellery right now. The ring will supposedly work as a motion controller, letting you do all the work with a single finger. It's a cool idea, but with the general move to gesture-based controls having such an accessory might feel a little outdated, no? It also sounds a little familiar, reminding us of Google's idea for a system where users could log in to secure sites using a ring-based device. iTVMiniRingS But wait, that's not all. White said that Apple is also readying an iTV Mini, though this is thought to be an iPad feature rather than separate hardware. "We believe the 'mini iTV' screens will be able to capture content from the 60-inch 'iTV' across a distance of up to 200 meters, allowing a user to view 'iTV' content in the kitchen, washroom, garage, bedroom, backyard, etc," said White. He also added that Apple will offer one "mini iTV" (log-in?) with each iTV purchase, with the option to include up to four additional screens. Does this mean Cupertino is about to wave goodbye to the Apple TV completely? This sounds like quite a leap, so forgive us for being a tad sceptical. It's certainly likely that White may have got a few things wrong here, but these are still promising signs that the iTV is on its way - though we're sure that it won't actually be called that when it arrives.

In Depth: iOS 7 release date, news and rumours Posted: The last major iOS 6 update for Apple's mobile devices, the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, was mostly hit, but there was a big Maps-shaped miss. Lots of people were rightly angry about Apple ditching Google data, but beyond that mis-step there were things to like: a more useful Siri (App launching plus the recognition that a world exists outside of the USA), shared Photo Streams, handy Phone app controls such as 'send to voicemail', and major improvements to Mail, Safari, accessibility and the Camera app. iOS 7 release date it looks like the new operating system might be running a little behind schedule. John Gruber believes that iOS 7 is "running behind", with engineers being pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it. We're expecting a September or October release date for iOS 7 in line with previous releases. Expect a preview of the new features to come at June's Apple WWDC. iOS 7 design A greater synergy between hardware and software design is something Apple is looking to achieve as it moves towards iOS 7. That's according to the Wall Street Journal in late March 2013, which also suggests that Jonathan Ive is pushing for a starker and simpler design for iOS 7 - that reminds us a little of what Microsoft has done to the desktop in Windows 8. But regardless of what Apple achieves, it's never really enough. As soon as you've sat there playing with the latest iOS, ideas pop into your head regarding what you'd like to see next. However, most changes will be "pretty conservative" according to the paper's sources. The rest of this article explores a dozen of the features we're clamouring to see in iOS 7. (And by 'clamouring', we of course mean 'asking really nicely'. C'mon, Mr Cook - pretty please?) 1. Hide Apple apps Pretty much everyone we know with an Apple device has a folder entitled 'Apple'. This isn't filled with must-have apps from the geniuses at Cupertino, but all the junk Apple installs that you can't get rid off. To be fair, what each individual considers junk is different, and these apps—Compass, Stocks, Voice Memos, Passbook, and so on—have their fans; but is it too much to ask for a switch in Settings that will hide those we don't use? 2. Better app management Change for change's sake is rarely a good thing. Recognition is key to satisfying experiences with technology. That's why we're not yelling at Apple to change how iOS home screens work. What we would like to see is improvements to app management: more screens; by default saving app data on delete; and an alphabetical list of installed apps, perhaps accessible from Spotlight. 3. Change app defaults We're pretty certain this request would be met with wide-eyes from Apple CEO Tim Cook, swiftly followed by a full twenty minutes of belly laughing, but we want the ability to use non-default apps for important things like email and calendaring. Apple's own apps would remain the defaults, but you should also be able to pick your own in Settings. 4. Provide a guest account It's extremely unlikely that Apple's ever going to enable multiple user accounts on iOS devices—they are, after all, designed as extremely personal computers. What is perhaps more realistic is some kind of guest account you could switch to when handing your device over to someone for a short while; something similar already exists on the Mac in OS X. 5. Change Siri's voice OS X is blessed with dozens of high-quality voices that witter away to you in various dulcet tones. By contrast, Siri is Siri. In the US, you get a slightly robotic woman; in the UK, Siri's that bloke who did The Weakest Link for a decade. It'd be great if you could choose the voice your device uses to speak. (Possible exception: Yoda voice.) 6. Provide App Store demos Apps and games might be cheap, but that doesn't figure cheapskates into the equation. Too often, people are unwilling to risk 69p on the latest release, forcing devs into irritating freemium models or making them clutter up the App Store with 'lite' versions of their output. Apple should just allow demos: 24 hours from first launch and then you buy or the app won't run. Boom. 7. Power up 'Do Not Disturb' Fed up of getting woken up in the middle of the night by the marketing efforts of [redacted, but quite possibly a well-known mobile network] or Game Center fanfares? Do Not Disturb is a great feature that enables you to time when your phone will quit bugging you. But you can define only a single schedule, and we want to see alternative options for weekends. 8. Make locking location-aware Locking is a great thing on iOS devices, making it at least a little harder for some scallywag to get at your data if they pinch your shiny Apple joy. But it could be more intelligent, locking on a location-aware basis, and not when you're, say, happily sitting at home on the sofa. 9. Improve the lock screen There's something to be said for Apple's minimalism regarding the iOS lock screen, and it's mostly that it's too minimal. We're not sure we want to see Android-style widgets sprayed everywhere, but a little more functionality wouldn't go amiss. For example, artwork from a currently playing song is displayed on the lock screen, but there are no controls for pausing or skipping to the next track, until you double-press Home, which isn't hugely discoverable. And beyond notifications, nothing else shows up there at all. 10 Cut all iTunes ties In recent years, Apple's made great leaps away from iTunes, and you can technically get away with never using the monstrous jukebox. However, there's still no way to easily get your existing music collection nor your photographs on to your device, and there should be. (Alas, with Apple wanting to push iTunes Match and the iTunes Store, there almost certainly never will be for the first of those.) 11. Make more icons dynamic We're hesitant at arguing Apple's home screen icons should be more like Windows 8 tiles, but there's something to be said for dynamic updates when such things work well. With iOS, you get update badges and a live calendar. It'd be nice at the least if Apple made its own Clock and Weather icons dynamic. 12. Enable cross-platform installs On a device, you now often see iOS-style banners on websites that when tapped take you right to the equivalent App Store app. But if you're browsing elsewhere, you have to email yourself a reminder and then install later. How good would it be if you were surfing on your PC, saw a great app and could install it across your devices without going near them, nor even to iTunes?

Apple call waiting patent could make being on hold less boring Posted: A new Apple call waiting patent may put an end to having nothing to do when you're put on hold except watch the call minutes tick away on the screen. U.S. Patent No. 8,412,164 suggests that future iPhones and Apple devices could serve up "adaptive information," including important data about the caller. "Adaptive information can be different from traditional static information, which is information that remains fixed or the same," reads the patent first spotted by Apple Insider. Currently, static information during iPhone voice calls consist of the call's length, name of the person on the other end of the connection, and the other user's photo. Call waiting me, maybe? Instead, the contextual call waiting feature could display more personal data like past communications between the two callers or future appointments. "Such adaptive information can include, for example, the name of the person's spouse and children, the date of their birthday or their hobbies," the new Apple patent indicates. "A system can also identify any unsuccessful attempts to communicate (e.g., unanswered calls, voicemails, unread emails) with another person and present a user with adaptive information related to those attempts." The adaptive information of this call waiting patent is meant to prepare a user for the rest of the communication. However, it could also bring up general data to pass the time, including the weather forecast and news headlines through both graphical and audio signals. Thanks for your time Interestingly, the time of day could affect the contextual call waiting information. "If a user is put on hold early in the morning, the presented information can be a highlight of the events on the user's calendar for that day," the patent suggests. "Moreover, if the user is put on hold late in the evening, the presented information can be a summary of the day's news or a summary of events scheduled for the next day." Of course, while this call waiting feature could find its way to iOS 7 when iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 are announced, Apple could ironically put the idea "on hold" indefinitely like it does with some many other patents.

You are subscribed to email updates from TechRadar: All latest Apple news feeds To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610