Digitimes is claiming Apple will launch a new model of MacBook soon, potentially by the end of 2014. According to the report, component production has already begun in small quantities. The current MacBook Air tapers from 0.3 cm to 1.7cm, so it is unclear in what form the new product will be thinner. Although the report is not specific, the report could be referencing the long-rumored 12 inch Retina MacBook Air.
Digitimes’ report lacks any specifics aside from the release window. KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo first mentioned the idea of a brand new Retina Air in 2013, predicting a launch in Q3 2014. The Air is expected to feature a radical new design, high-resolution display and a buttonless trackpad.
New images from Nowwhereelse.fr show some sort of physical mockup of the alleged ‘iPhone 6’ design we have seen from many sources in the past few days.
The purpose of this mockup model is not clear. At first glance, it seems like some sort of dummy model, that could be used by case manufacturers to validate and refine case designs. This is what the site has to say on the matter, via Google Translate:
Published by a member of a well-known Chinese forum indiscretions cabbage lovers, the three photos that I propose to examine in this article are meant to introduce the physical model of one of the two future iPhone rumored ad with a lot of leaks for several months already.Prototype for reference molding to prop in mobile telephony.
Apple’s current line of iPhones take advantage of the embedded SoC’s processing power to enable software-based image stabilization. Whilst optical image stabilization is generally considered to be superior, it also requires the camera components to be physically much larger. According to this report, Apple does not seem to have wanted to make this tradeoff.
UkranianiPhone.com has posted images of what it claims are iPhone 6 renders aimed at helping manufacturers produce accessories for the upcoming device.
The images appear to be better quality versions of the schematics leaked a few weeks ago. They depict the full-metal backplate with inlets at the top and bottom, assumedly related to the antenna structure. The cutouts for these lines match the image from the previous leaks. Interestingly, the renders also give specific measurements saying that the phone is 138mm in height, 67 mm in width, and 6 mm in depth.
Companies like Logitech, Zagg and others have been making their iPad keyboard cases thinner and thinner with each generation, but a year from now we might be seeing accessory makers take advantage of a new technology from CSR— The world’s thinnest wireless touch surface that could make your iPad keyboard case paper-thin. The company develops a number of silicon, software, and wireless solutions for OEMs in the consumer electronics space, and tonight it showed off its new printable, flexible 0.5 mm thick touch surface for the first time during ShowStoppers, the official media showcase for the IFA consumer electronics show taking place here in Berlin.
CSR partnered with Atmel and Conductive Inkjet Technology (CIT) to develop the ultra-thin wireless touch surface. The device uses Atmel’s touch silicon to sense multiple contact points on a surface, and can offer a full touch surface or power optimised key detection. The flexible membrane is enabled by CIT printed conductors. CIT’s reel-to-reel printing process enables copper and other conductors to be applied to the surface of the ultra-thin and flexible membrane, and can be printed to fit a range of tablet shapes and sizes.
Not only is it the thinnest touch surface ever made, it’s also wireless thanks to built-in Bluetooth 4.0, which CSR tells us helped the prototype achieve “market leading battery life” in the thin form factor. It also has touch latency of about 12mS, which means no noticeable lag while typing, but also possibilities for gaming and other applications. It’s not just for iPad keyboards, however. Tablet keyboard cases might be the ideal form factor– and CSR agrees– but it can also create table-sized touch surfaces and even customizable layouts that can be easily and inexpensively added to the keyboard. The tech is capable of picking up handwriting and stylus input as well, so typing and keyboards are certainly not the only implementation that we could see in the near future.
While it’s still a prototype, the company tells us its in discussions with many OEMs that are interested in the technology and that we could see consumer products implementing the paper thin touch surfaces as early as the holiday season next year. Head past the break for our first look at the prototype from tonight’s ShowStoppers show at IFA in Berlin. Expand Expanding Close
