The "i - Phone"

The Beginning of Apple

On 1 April 1976 Apple was founded, making the company 42-years old as of the 1 April 2018 - here's a historical breakdown of the company. Our Apple history feature includes information about The foundation of Apple and the years that followed, we look at How Jobs met Woz and Why Apple was named Apple. The Apple I and The debut of the Apple II. Apple's visit to Xerox, and the one-button mouse. The story of The Lisa versus the Macintosh. Apple's '1984' advert, directed by Ridley Scott. The Macintosh and the DTP revolution.

We go on to examine what happened between Jobs and Sculley, leading to Jobs departure from Apple, and what happened during The wilderness years: when Steve Jobs wasn't at Apple, including Apple's decline and IBM and Microsoft's rise and how Apple teamed up with IBM and Motorola and eventually Microsoft. And finally, The return of Jobs to Apple. The history of everyone's favourite start-up is a tech fairy tale of one garage, three friends and very humble beginnings. But we're getting ahead of ourselves…

The two Steves - Jobs and Wozniak - may have been Apple's most visible founders, but were it not for their friend Ronald Wayne there might be no iPhone, iPad or iMac today. Jobs convinced him to take 10% of the company stock and act as an arbiter should he and Woz come to blows, but Wayne backed out 12 days later, selling for just $500 a holding that would have been worth $72bn 40 years later. 

Why Apple was named Apple

The name Apple was to cause Apple problems in later years as it was uncomfortably similar to that of the Beatles' publisher, Apple Corps, but its genesis was innocent enough.

Speaking to Byte magazine in December 1984, Woz credited Jobs with the idea. "He was working from time to time in the orchards up in Oregon. I thought that it might be because there were apples in the orchard or maybe just its fructarian nature. Maybe the word just happened to occur to him. In any case, we both tried to come up with better names but neither one of us could think of anything better after Apple was mentioned."

According to the biography of Steve Jobs, the name was conceived by Jobs after he returned from apple farm. He apparently thought the name sounded “fun, spirited and not intimidating.”

The name also likely benefitted by beginning with an A, which meant it would be nearer the front of any listings.

The Apple Logo

There are other theories about the meaning behind the name Apple. The idea that it was named thus because Newton was inspired when an Apple fell out of a tree hitting him on the head, is backed up by the fact that the original Apple logo was a rather complicated illustration of Newton sitting under a tree.

Later the company settled on the bite out of an Apple design for Apple's logo - a far simpler logo design. These logos are probably the reason for other theories about the meaning behind the name Apple, with some suggesting that the Apple logo with a chunk taken out of it is a nod at computer scientist and Enigma code-breaker, Alan Turing, who committed suicide by eating a cyanide infused apple.

However, according to Rob Janoff, the designer who created the logo, the Turing connection is simply "a wonderful urban legend."

Equally the bite taken out of the Apple could represent the story of Adam and Eve from the Old Testament. The idea being that the Apple represents knowledge. 

NEW IPHONES LAUNCHED IN 2018

Founded in a garage in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple began as a personal computer pioneer that today makes everything from laptops to portable media players. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the consumer electronics giant entered the smart-phone market with the iPhone in 2007, and the tablet market with the iPad in 2010, and the smart-watch market with the Apple Watch in 2014. Apple's latest mobile launch is the iPhone XR. The smart-phone was launched in September 2018. The phone comes with a 6.10-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 828 pixels by 1792 pixels at a PPI of 326 pixels per inch. 

The Apple iPhone XR is powered by hexa-core Apple A12 Bionic processor and the phone packs 64GB of internal storage cannot be expanded. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Apple iPhone XR packs a 12-megapixel (f/1.8) primary camera on the rear and a 7-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

It measures 150.90 x 75.70 x 8.30 (height x width x thickness) and weigh 194.00 grams.

The Apple iPhone XR is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smart-phone that accepts Nano-SIM and eSIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, Lightning, Active 4G on both SIM cards, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include Face unlock, 3D face recognition, Compass Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Gyroscope and Barometer.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Size

 Apple

All three new models of iPhone have Apple’s new “all-screen” design that dispenses of the superfluous space above and below the screen and pushes the display all the way to the edges. It also means you’ll have to deal with a notch at the the top for the camera and other sensors, which cuts down on the physical size.

· iPhone XS: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm

· iPhone XS Max: 157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7mm

· iPhone XR: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm

For comparison, the iPhone 8 Plus measures 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5mm, so even the largest 6.5-inch iPhone isn’t any bigger than the previous generation, despite having an inch more of screen space.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Display

Here’s where things start to get weird. The iPhone XS has the same 5.8-inch display as the iPhone X, but now there’s a new model, the 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max. Both of those screens use Apple’s new OLED display tech for “the most accurate color in the industry, HDR, and true blacks.”

At the low end, Apple has made an entirely new phone, the iPhone XR, which brings a 6.1-inch LCD screen that Apple is calling Liquid Retina, so its actually bigger than the 5.8-inch iPhone XS. Here’s how the three models shake out.

· iPhone XS: 5.8-inch OLED, 2436x1125, 458 ppi

· iPhone XS Max: 6.5-inch OLED, 2688x1242, 458 ppi

· iPhone XR: 6.1-inch LCD, 1792x828, 326 ppi

The resolution of the iPhone XR is clearly lower than the XS, but it might not be as terrible as it looks. For comparison, the 4.8-inch iPhone 8 has a resolution of 1334x750 at 326 ppi, so the screen will likely pale in comparison to the iPhone XS and XS Max. Still, Apple defines Retina quality as anything with a pixel density above 300, so you still shouldn’t see any jagged edges. All three displays feature Apple’s True Tone technology and have a 625 cd/m2 max brightness.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Performance

Like last year, Apple isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to performance. All three phones are powered by the new A12 Bionic processor, which Apple describes as “the smartest, most powerful chip in a smartphone.” It includes a new neural engine able to perform five trillion operations per second for AR and camera advancements, as well as a faster and more efficient CPU and GPU. There’s also 4GB of RAM in the XS models versus 3GB in the XR, so that should help with multitasking and app launching.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Battery

Apple doesn’t like to disclose the exact capacity of its battery (not until iFixit gets its hands not the new phones anyway), but here’s what Apple has to say about the new models.

· iPhone XS: Lasts up to 30 minutes longer than iPhone X

· iPhone XS Max: Lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than iPhone X

· iPhone XR: Lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than iPhone 8 Plus

Since that’s kind of meaningless, here are some actual battery estimates.

· iPhone XS: Up to 12 hours of internet use and 14 hours of video playback

· iPhone XS Max: Up to 13 hours of internet use and 15 hours of video playback

· iPhone XR: Up to 15 hours of internet use and 16 hours of video playback

And finally, regulatory filings have provided actual battery capacities for the three phones:

· iPhone XS: 2,658mAh (versus 2,716mAh on the iPhone X)

· iPhone XS Max: 3,174mAh

· iPhone XR: 2,942mAh (versus 2,675 on the iPhone 8 Plus)

Based on those estimates and capacities, the iPhone XR is the clear leader, but all three should get you through a full day of use. As always, however, it’ll depend on your needs.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Rear camera

The iPhone XS and XS Max both have the exact same dual camera setup, while the iPhone XR has a single camera like the iPhone 8.

iPhone XS/XS Max: Dual 12MP wide-angle (f/1.8) and telephoto cameras (f/2.4), dual optical image stabilization, 2x optical zoom

iPhone XR: 12MP (f/1.8), Optical image stabilization

As you can see, the camera array on the iPhone XS and XS Max is vastly superior to the iPhone XR, but the main lens is actually the same on all three models. We’ll have to wait to see how that translates to real-world shooting. Even without the second camera, however, you will still get Portrait Mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting, and Smart HDR, as well as 4K video recording and slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Front camera

The front camera is the same on all three devices: 7MP TrueDepth camera with f/2.2 aperture. They all include Portrait Mode, Portrait Lighting, and Smart HDR.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Biometrics

Since the home button has been removed, all three phones include Face ID for unlocking. Apple says the system has been tuned to be faster, and with iOS 12, you’ll be able to add a second face as well.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Storage

Apple has added a third storage options to the iPhone lineup, but you have different options on the iPhone XR compared to the two XS models.

· iPhone XS: 64GB/256GB/512GB

· iPhone XS Max: 64GB/256GB/512GB

· iPhone XR: 64GB/128GB/256GB

The iPhone XS models both max out at 512GB, the most storage Apple has ever offered in a phone. The iPhone XR has the same 256GB that the iPhone 8 offered at the high end, but adds a new 128GB tier in the middle. Half-a-terabyte is nice and all, but most people won’t have any reason for that much internal storage.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Charging

All three iPhones feature wireless charging, but you’ll need to buy a third-party pad, since AirPower is still MIA.

Sadly, all three phones ship with the same 5W charger, so you’ll need to buy a $49 30W charger along with a $19 USB-C-to-Lightning cable to get fast charging.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Colors

Where last year’s iPhone X only came in black and silver, Apple has greatly expanded its palette this year.

· iPhone XS: Black, silver, gold

· iPhone XS Max: Black, silver, gold

· iPhone XR: White, black, blue, yellow, coral, gold, (Product) RED

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Price

Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: What do these things cost? While none of the new iPhones start as low as the $699 iPhone 8, there should be a new iPhone for every budget, assuming you have lots of money to spend on a new phone.

· iPhone XS: $999/$1,149/$1,349

· iPhone XS Max: $1,099/$1,249/$1,449

· iPhone XR: $749/$799/$899

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS vs iPhone XS Max: Availability

The iPhone XS and XS Max are available for purchase now through all four major carriers, Best Buy, and Apple.com. The iPhone XR is slightly delayed, with pre-orders beginning Friday, October 19 and shipping a week later, on October 26.

iPhone XR vs iPhone XS vs iPhone XS Max: Which should you buy

If you absolutely have to have the best of the best, then the iPhone XS Max is for you. It’s not cheap, but it has the biggest screen Apple has ever made, with lots of RAM, a big battery, tons of storage. The smaller iPhone XS is a great phone too, based on early reviews, but the decision to buy there is a little murkier. For one, the difference between it and the iPhone XS Max is only $100 and you get way more pixels on the bigger phone.. But the biggest question is over the iPhone XR. We haven’t had a chance to look at the phone yet, and since it costs $250 less for the same processor, main camera, and longer battery life, it’s probably a good idea to wait.

Problems in new iphones

Apple 'Confirms' iPhones Have A Serious Problem

There’s a lot to like about the new iPhone XS (details) and iPhone XS Max (details). But the two flagships suffer from a serious problem which has also started to impact older models, and Apple AAPL +0.88% has (very quietly) just confirmed it… 

Today Apple released iOS 12.1 beta 2 and, despite the software having no official release notes, iFan site iMore immediately announced the update includes a fix for the charging woes introduced in iOS 12. But it’s not all good news.

Apple's iPhone XS (middle) and iPhone XS Max (left) charging problems have spread to older iPhones and iPadsAPPLE

While iMore was predictably promotional about the fix (“With it, no more delay or uncertainty about charging. You’ll be back to just plugging it in and getting power.”), site editor Rene Ritchie then told users not to expect a final release to iPhone and iPad owners before the end of October.

Given iOS 12 was released on September 17th, that’s well over a month to fix to a problem which inhibits (what tests suggest) is a significant proportion of iPhones from charging.

That said, the good news following iMore’s tip-off is initial trials of iOS 12.1 beta 2 on affected iPhones and iPads have resulted in them charging normally. This is particularly positive after reports Apple tech support was telling affected users they needed to replace their devices.

Because this is not how Apple works when it comes to contentious issues. As popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee neatly summarises:

“They are pretty much known for not really handling it, they will steer as far away from acknowledging it as a problem as possible and just make a statement about how we are using it wrong.”

Of course, a lot of credit for Apple’s fix goes to Lewis Hilsenteger - aka Unbox Therapy - who used his platform of 12 million YouTube subscribers to highlight the issue (video above) and, as Brownlee notes, this “forces Apple...to respond and to fix it and for that the products get better and we all win.”

As for winning, it is fast becoming clear those who are waiting for Apple’s iPhone XR stand to benefit most of all from this. Not only does the new model deliver the best bang for your buck and superior battery life to both the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, it will also launch alongside iOS 12.1.