It has been referred to as Bend Gate with all sorts of media coverage about the iPhone 6 bending. There are many flaws with the coverage that is essentially making a fairly minor situation into a much bigger problem than it really is. For instance, the bending issue appears to really be with the iPhone 6 Plus, not the iPhone 6. If you have not seen the video, here is what Unbox Therapy released that caused much of the media frenzy.
The intention that was set out from the start was to see if he could bend the iPhone 6 Plus. This is not what most people are going to encounter in their day to day use with such a device. In addition, he found a weak spot and then put additional pressure on it to get as much bend as he possibly could. This is intentional destruction not a simulation of someone actually putting it in their pocket and sitting down which would be the most likely reason for such a bend to even occur.
The end result was the iPhone 6 Plus did bend to a significant angle. It should be noted that it still continued to work and the glass did not break. This isn’t a real world usage example though. Let’s face it, the iPhone 6 Plus is a phablet and is not practical to put in a front pocket and most people would pull it out of their pocket once they realize the pressure of the phone digging into them. Besides, similar bending issues has in the past. These things are not designed to be indestructible.
Apple responded by letting some journalists into its testing labs to show how they tested the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Below is the video of this released from Re/Code:
So, should you be concerned that if you happen to get an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus that the phone will be bent out of shape? Not unless you are intentionally putting it into a situation that you think the phone will be stressed as hard enough to cause it to bend. If so, you probably are going to be getting a rigid or durable case to use with your phone anyways.
And media, maybe you need to start reporting about the failures of the iPhone 6 to withstand being or shot with a . But then again, not many people will have to deal with these problems in real life either.
Should You Update an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S to iOS 8?
Today, Apple is making available its iOS 8 operating system for owners of current iPhone 4S and higher and iPad 2 or higher. This is a fairly significant update that adds a number of new features and changes some of the interface. If you happen to have an older device such as an iPhone 4S or an iPad 2, you might be a bit wary of switching to this new version. The advice on the subject from online sites varies from to upgrade right away.
In terms of the arguments on why not to upgrade, the new . Apple is rolling out a new version of their cloud storage system. It will add additional features for users but it has a big problem in that it is not compatible with the previous iCloud. For users that have an iPad or iPhone and use Windows, this won’t be a huge issue but for Mac OS X users it is a big problem. You see iCloud Drive converts all the existing files in the Cloud to use the new platform. The problem is that the current Mavericks operating system does not support iCloud Drive. So, if you upgrade your device to the new feature (which is the default), you won’t be able to access or sync the data that resides on your Mac computer until Yosemite is officially launched next month. Of course, this will apply to all iPhone and iPad users not just those of the older devices. For them, they may want to hold off updating until they have the new OS X. You can update and opt out of iCloud Drive but be warned that it is easy to enable by mistake.
Now is the other reason many people cite as why you should not upgrade the older devices like the iPad 2, iPhone 4S and the original iPad Mini (essentially a scaled down version of the iPad 2). It is true that often the oldest of the devices supported by a new release tend to have some performance issues. In general, the performance issues are generally not a huge problem and they tend to get corrected with point releases after the initial release as they optimize it for the older hardware.
Let me explain from experience with the original iPad why you want to update if you can. The original iPad was left out of the iOS 7 update. While the iPad still functioned with the previous iOS software, it was left out of many app updates because they required the newer iOS software. In addition, it began to have issues with crashing because it was no longer being updated by Apple. Now, running iOS 7 is not going to have similar problems right away but over time it will get left behind just like the iPad on iOS 6 did. Because of this, it is best to update eventually to the highest supported iOS that you can.
Back to the original question of should you update your iPhone 4S or iPad 2/iPad Mini Retina to iOS 8? Yes you should. I would not recommend doing it immediately after Apple releases it because of the iCloud Drive issues and other potential compatibility problems with software such as . Instead, wait a few weeks for the apps to get updated and Apple to potential patch any initial release issues.
iPhone Game Controllers Convert The Smartphone Into A Dedicated Mobile Gaming Platform
Portable gaming has been dominated for years by Nintendo with their various GameBoy mobile consoles. With the rise of smartphones, the market for mobile gaming is changing. The big problem that most of the smartphones have had is lack of dedicated controls. With just a touchscreen to work with, gameplay has suffered because of inaccurate controls and the fact that some of the display is covered by the users fingers that are trying to control the game.
When Apple announced iOS 7 earlier in the year, one of the lesser touted features included with it was support for external game controls. Now that the software has been released to the various iPhone, iPad and iPod devices, peripherals are finally starting to come out that make use of the new feature. Two iPhone game controllers are now available that will convert the device into a dedicated gaming systems. Let’s take a look at what they offer… Continue reading
Apple’s iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S – Should You Get one?
Apple iPhone 5S