Rumour: New iPad Pro’s To Ship Next Week

With all the rumours and expectation of the new iPad Pro lineup dropping imminently, one interesting release window that kept moving suggests that the new devices may ship next week, with an announcement this week being likely if this is the case.

One of the most popular games of recent years Call of Duty Warzone, was set to release on mobile last year on May 15th 2023, however was delayed eventually until 2024. The final release date was pushed back to spring 2024, with a confirmed release date of Thursday 21st March. It seems an oddly specific day for release, unless it coincides with the release of the new lineup of iPad Pro’s from Apple sporting the new and improved M3 chip. Although there is unlikely to be the usual Apple keynote to release the upcoming devices, Apple is continuing to push the gaming aspect of their devices and the graphical abilities of the M series chips, so it would make sense that the mobile version of Warzone is used as a flagship new game to release at the same time as the new devices.

Older Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro’s Confirmed to work with 5th Generation Models

With the Spring Apple Event kicking off this years Apple release cycle, one of the big releases to be announced was the 5th generation of the iPad Pro. With this release of the iPad Pro 12.9″ comes the new Liquid Retina XDR display, whilst not altering the physical design of the device it does add a very slight 0.5mm depth increase to the device leading many to worry about their old accessories and their compatibility with the new devices.

The new Magic Keyboard comes in at a lower price of £329, compared to the previous model that came in at £349 when not on sale. The listing on the Apple website confirms that the new keyboard in both black and white will work with previous iPad Pro models, but does not confirm if the 2020 Magic Keyboard will work with the 5th Generation models.

Speaking to an Apple representative following the spring event, they have confirmed that the older Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio will work with the newer models without issue. This makes a lot of sense as the accessories are expensive and this allows Apple to reduce the number of accessories they need to sell as the newer models are compatible with all previously supported iPads.

Update 29/04/2021 – Apple have now confirmed that the the first generation model is functionally compatible with the new 5th generation iiPad Pro 12.9″. Due to the slightly thicker dimensions of this new iPad Pro, it’s possible that the Magic Keyboard may not precisely fit when closed, especially when screen protectors are applied. Many current owners of the current model have used screen protectors much thicker than .5mm and had no issues so this appears to be more of a case of Apple covering themselves should there be any issues.

How To: Get Netflix Picture in Picture Mode on Pre-iOS 9.3.2 Devices

After Apple announced Picture in Picture mode for iOS in iOS 9, it has become a extremely useful feature for those who like to multitask as they work on their iOS device. Most entertainment apps finally caught up over the following months by adding PiP support to their apps, however Netflix still didn’t offer this feature, albeit more difficult as they weren’t using the stock iOS video player. This all changed today when Netflix announced their latest app update with the addition of PiP but only for devices running the latest 9.3.2 firmware. Knowing that the PiP APIs were introduced back in 9.0, I decided to take a look and see if this version restriction can be bypassed and it can for anyone running a jailbroken device.
Netflix iOS

If you are running a jailbroken device then following these instructions should enable the feature for you without any issues, however as always follow the instructions carefully and any damage caused is entirely your responsibility. This has only been tested on iOS 9.1, but should work on any 9.x firmware.

Install OpenSSH or MTerminal
Log in or SSH into your iOS device as root (default password is alpine)
If you are planning to keep OpenSSH installed on your device then please change your root password, instructions on how to do so can be found here.
Navigate to the following directory: /System/Library/CoreServices/
If you are using SSH then use your preferred editor to open SystemVersion.plist, I used nano to edit the file.
If you are using MTerminal then you will need to install your preferred editor on Cydia.
Open the file and navigate down to the ProductBuildVersion key and change the string value to 13F72.
Go down to the Product Version key and change the string value to 9.3.2, as shown below.
Now save and exit out of the editor, uninstall OpenSSH if you don’t plan on using it again. (Note: if you are using Pangu 9.0.x Untether then it will try to uninstall this when using Cydia as it thinks the system version is in fact 9.3.2 and therefore unsupported)
Reboot your device, it will appear as if you have upgraded your device and ask you to log into iCloud, however everything is still in tact and you are still running the original version of the OS.
Ensure you are on the latest version of the Netflix app and choose a title to watch, press the home button and now you should have a PiP view of the title.

PiP Mode on iOS 9.1

Could The iPhone 5S Support 4K Video Recording?

With Apple’s unveiling of the much rumored iPhone 5S and budget 5C model coming in less than an hour, an interesting point was brought about by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, that the current iPhone 5 model is capable of 4K at a low fps. There have been a few handsets unveiled over the last week that support 4K video capture so it’s not impossible but just because it’s 4K doesn’t particularly mean that it will be good video, it’s all dependent on the sensor itself and if the iPhone 5S does in fact offer 4K recording then I can only imagine that it will be up to a good standard for Apple to include such a feature.

It’s been heavily rumoured that the sensor in the 5S would be an upgrade from the 5, as with part S models the camera always gets an upgrade. However I believe that if they don’t include this feature on the 5S then it’ll be potentially enabled by the jailbreak community and that Apple may keep it for the iPhone 6.

Why the iPad mini isn’t retina

After the official Apple event announcing the new iPad mini on the 23rd, a lot of people have been slightly disappointed by the fact that the iPad mini doesn’t come with a retina display. This doesn’t mean that in future there won’t be a retina iPad mini in future but here’s a few reasons as to why Apple may not have decided on a retina ready iPad mini.

First of all and perhaps the biggest issue would have been price, the mini retails at £269 in the UK ($329 in the US) which although is higher than some of the competing tablets in the market, it’s at a low enough price that it appeals to a much wider audience sporting it’s lower price tag. If Apple would have included a retina display this itself would have pushed the price up considerably, making it less accesible to people due to the higher price tag. In a years time, the screens themselves and process of making a retina iPad mini will be cheaper and therefore a much more viable option for Apple.

Due to the screen size being 7.9″, rather than the bigger 9.7″ the resolution of the screen could be lower to have the same DPI (Dots Per Inch) as the current retina iPad and therefore qualify as a retina display. The retina iPad comes with a resolution of 264 DPI compared to that of the mini at 163 DPI. However although it has the same resolution as the iPad 2, it’s actually got a higher DPI due to the smaller screen size; therefore text and images will look sharper on the smaller screen. With the resolution being the same as iPad 2 this means that there is no wait for apps to be made ready for iPad mini, all the apps that work on the iPad and iPad 2 will work out of the box with the iPad mini, making it easier for both developers and consumers.

One of the things that come with the smaller form factor, is a smaller battery. The iPad mini comes with a 16.3W battery, in a single cell design which itself takes up most of the device. If the device were to ship with a retina display it would need a much bigger battery which would mean the device would have to be either thicker, or bigger; which would affect the idea of it being ‘mini’. The mini still manages a 10-hour battery life, which the retina iPad manages with a 42.5W battery. The CPU in the mini is a dual-core, the same as the iPad 2 however the retina iPad comes with a A6X CPU, which is powerful enough to drive the retina screen, the A5 however wouldn’t be able to offer the same experience.

As with all Apple tech, each revision of a product line brings improved specs and I have no doubt that perhaps next year we will see a retina ready iPad mini, the components and technology behind the device will come down in price and hopefully there won’t be too much of a price increase next cycle.

How To: Recalibrate iOS Device Home Button

One of the most notable issues over time with iOS device users is that after months of use the home button becomes un-responsive, it affects all iOS devices over time and can affect some more than others, generally based upon the use of the device. One way to fix it would simply to return it to Apple and get a replacement, if your device is still in warranty and they allow you to exchange it. However as it’s a mechanical part they may not replace the device itself.

A simple way that fixes the issue for most people, is something you can do yourself and all you need is your device itself. Following these simple steps will in most cases fix the problem and makes your home button a lot more responsive.

Launch one of the stock iOS applications on your device, for example the settings app.
When the app is open, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button at the top of the device until the ‘Slide To Power Off’ slider appears.
Press and hold the iOS home button. Keep the button pressed until the slider disappears and the application quiet back to the Springboard.
The home button is now re-calibrated and should be a lot more responsive.

Apple Now Actively Taking A Stance Against Jailbreakers

For years people have been jailbreaking their iOS devices to run things that Apple won’t allow, whether it be apps or themes. They’ve never actively done a lot against the jailbreaking community, until now.

I’m due to take my iPhone into the Apple Store due to some hardware issues, but of course I was running a jailbroken iOS 4.3.2, so I spent 3 hours trying to restore it. It got stuck in a constant restore cycle. I tried using RecBoot, TinyUmbrella and iRecovery to try and get it out of it but it just wouldn’t work.

Turns out that Apple have now updated iTunes to check the hosts file on the computer and if there is an entry under ‘gs.apple.com’ it will put your device into a constant restore cycle. This is because some of the tools used for jailbreaking will add the ‘gs.apple.com’ entry to the hosts file to stop the local machine talking back to the server. Of course it’s simple to remove the entry and restore but for whose who don’t know about this will be stuck with a very expensive paperweight. It does rise some other issues, some people may have very large host files and therefore it will simply take too long and then iTunes will assume the device is jailbroken and put it into the constant recovery cycle.

White iPhone 4 Finally On Sale

The news has been floating around the internet for a few days now that the white iPhone 4, would finally go on sale and it’s now official. Vodafone UK among others are set to release the white iPhone 4 along with Apple themselves. The official Apple site got updated just after midnight to reflect the arrival of the white iPhone 4 model. Hopefully this also means that there will be no delay in the upcoming next generation white iPhone.

Possible Pictures of Next Gen iPhone Leaked in China

What we have here are said to be pictures of the upcoming next generation of iPhone, known to be either the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5.

These pictures have been posed by Chris Chang on the M.I.C Gadget website, the photo appears to be the next generation iPhone which will no doubt be powered by the same A5 CPU that is in the iPad 2. This may not actually be the final design for the next generation iPhone, which is rumored to hit stores in September, but could of be one of the many prototypes that will have been made. There was talk a few weeks back of a edge-to-edge display, so this seems to back up those rumors.

How To: Disable iPhone Balance Notifications

iPhone balance notifications are probably the only downside to having an iPhone on Pay As You Go, every time you send a message, make a phone call or use data without having a data package in place, you will have to dismiss your balance every time. It may be nice to sometimes see your balance, but if you send a lot of SMS messages like me then it soon gets frustrating.

I decided to research the subject a few months ago to see if there was any way of removing it, a few threads on some forums but no conclusive answer. I got in touch with O2 to get it removed but back then they told me that you couldn’t remove it. There was nothing in Cydia to get rid of it either. But yesterday I got in touch with O2 again, after reading that the carrier can turn it off at their end and I woke up this morning without having to see the balance notification screen. So to remove the balance screen just get in touch with your carrier, whether it be O2 or any other carrier worldwide and they should be able to disable it for you. I hope this has helped and leave your success stories in the comments.