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While it may not seem so, technology has considerably increased its grip on our lives this past year. While tech in our day to day lives may not have progressed at a visible rate, the sector made great strides in improving our future.

Here are some of the noteworthy highlights of technology in 2015:

  1. Fruits from Apple

Apple came out with quite a few products this year. Some were newer generations of the existing series while others were completely new. The “fruits” from Apple were:

Apple Watch

If it’s one thing that apple is great at, it’s creating a buzz. And this piece of wearable technology generated quite of it. Beginning with rumours in 2011, the existence of a wearable product in design and development was confirmed by the corporation in 2013. Unveiled last year, the watch then finally rolled out this year. It was mostly received positively by the critics with some criticisms hanging around the straps. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc. stated that the sales transcended their expected sales.

Apple Watch
Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/watch

New MacBook

Latest in the series of MacBook, this new laptop is almost a kilogram light than the previous ones. A persistent battery life of about 9 hours (with web browsing) and an amazing 12 inch retina display aren’t all that cover its exciting features. With a new redesigned keyboard that uses a “butterfly mechanism” resulting in less key travel and a USB-C port it has set a new benchmark for laptop manufacturers around the world.

Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/macbook
Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/macbook

Apple iPad Pro 

The biggest ever iPad from Apple challenging the Microsoft’s Surface devices came out this year. It is the only Apple device to come with a stylus, something that Steve Jobs really hated.

Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/ipad-pro
Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/ipad-pro

 

Along with releasing products, Apple also made some policy changes. The “seeds” from Apple this year were:

Swift goes public

An in-house programming language, Swift was made open source in June this year. This was a very bold public move from a very private organisation.

Ad-blocking on iOS

An update to iOS this year, made it possible to install ad-blocking software on their iPhones and iPad. Though it didn’t affect the sales of such products much, it was still quite shocking to the media and advertising industry.

  1. Peeking into Microsoft

Another giant in the big arena of technology, Microsoft released two major products this year:

Windows 10

Windows operating system has the largest customer base in the world. Every Windows user waits for the new release of Windows and the two year wait of users was rewarded handsomely by the company. After coming out in July this year, Windows 7 and 8 users were thrilled to know that the new update would be free for them. One of its most notable feature was Cortana, a digital voice assistant which was previously on Windows 8.1 as well.

 

Image source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/features
Image source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/features

Microsoft Surface Book

Not exactly a laptop, the Surface Book is a 2 in 1 device with detachable keyboard. It is built with Magnesium and is quite strong. The design and touch were received positively while lacking USB-C ports was criticised.

Image Source: https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/devices/surface-book
Image Source: https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/devices/surface-book
  1. Searching Google

With Satya Nadella acquiring a top position in Microsoft last year, another Indian, Sundar Pichai climbed the ranks of this great tech company and became the CEO of Google. Although it was a very big news for our subcontinent, it was not all that Google did this year. The major highlight from Google is:

Alphabet

The company went under a complete corporate restructuring and came out as Alphabet. The company currently has more than 26 subsidiaries some of which are Google Inc, Google Capital, Calico. Google Inc still is the umbrella corporation for all its internet related businesses. The reason to undergo this change was stated to make the company cleaner and accountable. abc.xyz is the new web address of the company with a letter explaining everything about Alphabet from Larry Paige.

 

Image source: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/11/google-alphabet-why-change-restructuring-what-it-means#img-1
Image source: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/11/google-alphabet-why-change-restructuring-what-it-means#img-1
  1. Smartphones-The Six Wars

Mobile Phones have evolved from mere calling devices to multipurpose computers offering great power in the palm of our hands. The three major smartphone releases this year battling to be the best were: Google Nexus 6P, Apple iPhone 6S and Samsung S6.

Apple Iphone 6S

The “S” upgrade from Apple is usually an update in hardware, but 6S and 6s plus is much more than that. Apple added 3D touch and 4K video recording giving clarity and resolution of phone recorded video a completely new standard.

 

Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/iphone-6s/
Image source: http://www.apple.com/in/iphone-6s/

Google Nexus 6P

Google finally added the fingerprint sensor that Apple has been boasting of since the release of iPhone 5S. The phone has a great battery life and very good camera – something which Nexus series lacked. It is manufactured by Huawei changing from Motorola which released the last version.

Image source: https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p
Image source: https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p

Samsung S6

With 16 megapixel camera that is astonishingly fast and the life untangling wireless charging technology, Samsung has again gained its position as a quality manufacturer of Android phones. The ultra-thin metallic design of the phone shows the talents of design team at Samsung.

Image source: http://www.samsung.com/in/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/galaxy-s/SM-G920IZDAINS
Image source: http://www.samsung.com/in/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/galaxy-s/SM-G920IZDAINS
  1. Behind the wheels

The automobile industry is one of the subsidiaries of technology being affected by the electronic industry, another child of technology. This year there were two major happenings in the industry that rocked and shocked people around the world:

Tesla’s Autopilot

Tesla released a semi-autonomous autopilot system for its cars this year which makes the car self-steer in some situations and parallel park automatically. Tesla is not the first company to venture into the field but what’s amazing is that this was achieved via a software update sent to its cars. So, basically, tesla gave its car the ability to think, well in minimalistic capacity, overnight.

Image source: http://mashable.com/2015/12/11/tesla-restrict-autopilot-report/#qAbz3E9725q7
Image source: http://mashable.com/2015/12/11/tesla-restrict-autopilot-report/#qAbz3E9725q7

Volkswagen Emission Scam 

One of the biggest scam in technology in 2015 was Volkwagen’s emission scam where it was found that more than 5 lakh vehicles in US had a software to cheat the test for emission standards. The scam tainted the company’s image to a great extent indicated by about 20% drop in share value on first day after unveiling the fact to public. They spent around 7.3 billion dollars to recover the cost of scandal. The CEO, Martin Winterkorn resigned as well.

 

Image Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2015/09/23/volkswagen-financially-equipped-to-handle-diesel-emissions-scandal/
Image Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2015/09/23/volkswagen-financially-equipped-to-handle-diesel-emissions-scandal/
  1. From the rainforests of Amazon

Amazon Echo

One of the best gadgets of the world, Amazon Echo is a beautiful and stunning concoction from the designers at the large conglomerate. With a very unconventional relationship structure, it is a marriage between Bluetooth speaker and Digital voice assistant, Alexa while they both have affairs with various smart home devices such as Philip’s Hue Light to Samsung’s SmartThings. The device plays very well with other smart home device i.e. it integrates very easily with them. You can sync it with your phone and Alexa will take care of the reading and music. It’s no wonder that that the echo of its praises are being sung all across the world.

Image source: http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-SK705DI-Echo/dp/B00X4WHP5E
Image source: http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-SK705DI-Echo/dp/B00X4WHP5E

Amazon Dash Buttons

When amazon rolled these out, people thought that they were being pranked. And why wouldn’t they, it was the 31st of March. Users thought that it the company was playing an early April fool’s Day trick on them. But it wasn’t so. These are actual products. All one needs to do is configure the button to a specific product and quantity. They are connected with the amazon app. Pressing the button will order the products from Amazon.

Image source: http://wnep.com/2015/03/31/amazons-dash-button-lets-you-press-button-to-order-your-favorite-products/
Image source: http://wnep.com/2015/03/31/amazons-dash-button-lets-you-press-button-to-order-your-favorite-products/
  1. Science and Tech

Reusable Rockets

Blue Origin, a company owned by Jeff Bezos CEO of Amazon made a revolutionary advancement in the field of rocket science by developing a rocket, The New Shepherd, which went 62 miles above Earth and landed back on ground. It’s a very significant achievement as rockets cost millions of dollars and they usually end up at the bottom of an ocean after serving their purpose. This remarkable development will save millions of dollars.

Image source: https://www.blueorigin.com/technology
Image source: https://www.blueorigin.com/technology

Breakthrough Energy Coalition

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Mukesh Ambani and other high profile figures came together this year to create the above mentioned organisation to take a stand on climate change. The organisations aims to provide assistance to governments with matters of renewable energy such as wind and solar energy. They plan to make contributions in amount of 20 billion dollars to the cause.

Image source: http://en.xinfinance.com/html/Industries/Energy/2015/172388.shtml
Image source: http://en.xinfinance.com/html/Industries/Energy/2015/172388.shtml
  1. People in Tech

The return of Jack Dorsey

Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. The world of tech saw the return of Steve Jobs to Apple in the previous century and it saw something similar in this one. After almost 7 years Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter returned to Twitter after being pushed out. He officially joined this year in October as the CEO.

Image source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227111
Image source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227111

End of Ellen Pao’s War

Ellen Pao is very well known for filing gender discrimination suit against Kleiner Perkins, her former employer in 2012. The result of the lawsuit came out this March which was not in her favour. After being the interim CEO of Reddit in 2013, she had to step down even from that position this year after a user revolt against firing a popular employee of link sharing site.

Image source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ellen-pao-loses-big-silicon-valley-sex-bias/story?id=29951020
Image source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ellen-pao-loses-big-silicon-valley-sex-bias/story?id=29951020

Feature Image Credits: responseit.ca

 

Having at least one Apple product in hand has become the new trend in today’s times. People leave no opportunity to flaunt their latest Apple gizmo nowadays. In light of the big announcement Apple Inc is going to make tonight, let us take a brief view into the world of most trending Apple Products.

iPhones

“IF IT’S NOT AN IPHONE, IT’S NOT AN IPHONE” –Apple site was seen very rightly quoting about its product, which is the most sold product ever by Apple Inc. With almost half a billion pieces sold by the start of this year, an iPhone has revolutionized the mobile industry and the smart phone business. Presently Apple continues to sell the 4 variants namely iPhone 5c, 5s, 6 and 6+.
The 5c was a new concept model for Apple launching it in a variety of colours and a plastic body whereas with 5s, was introduced the concept of fingerprint sensors in mobile phones. Both the phones were great, considering their looks, features and size. Last year on this day Apple entered the Big Screen Mobile Market by launching the 5.44 x 2.64 inch iPhone 6 and the 6.22 x 3.06 inch iPhone 6 plus. Both the phones were perfect with their 8mp cameras, A8 processors and their light weights. iPhone 6 and 6+ also has a vastly improved battery life and is a complete package with great looks and its thin width. Although Apple iPhones have always been a worry for our wallets, but still compared to other competing brands, iPhones have a longer life and Apple provides great after sales service

What to Expect at Today’s Launch- Apple is expected to announce the 6s, the 6s+ and the 6c models as rumours say. Also a new Rose gold colour may be introduced in addition to the existing silver, gold and space grey colors. The new phones may also boast of a 4k quality recording and 12 mp camera with a 5mp front camera for all the Selfie freaks out here.With IOS 9 also awaited to be announced for general use today, iPhone lovers can surely expect much from todays launch.

iPads

Apple first entered the tablet market with its first product named the iPad. iPads have dominated the tablet market right from the beginning with Apple bringing lots of variations in their subsequent models each year. From the big, thick and fat iPad at its launch, today iPads rule the tablet market with their iPad air, iPad air 2, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3 models. Apple first brought in the “air” concept with their ultra-thin and feather weight iPads known as the iPad air. With its two size variants of 9.7 inch and 7.9 inch iPad has been a hot cake product in the market, used by students ,corporates etc.
With its A8x processor, both front and back cameras, Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity iPads have become a travel, study and work companion for all.

However like other tablets the size of such tabs make them less portable compared to smartphones and also they fail to compensate for the work a laptop can do.

What to expect at todays launch– Updates to the iPad usually come in October, but there’s a chance we could see a 12.9-inch iPad Pro on Wednesday. The larger tablet should also have Force Touch, as well as a stylus.
MacBooks

Next we take a look at what is inherent to Apple –the MacBook. Coming in two variants the MacBook Pro and the MacBook air, Apple has a good share in the Laptop Industry too. With coloured variants of the MacBook being launched last year Macbooks are just like any other laptops. However, the cheaper models of the MacBook series have quite a small storage space making it less feasible to shed 100 grands for a laptop which ,the range at which you can get way better features in other brands. However the speed, the battery life etc. make MacBooks outstand other brands. Also, you don’t know an Apple, until you own an Apple.

Apple Watch

Apple announced their entry into the fashion industry with the announcing of the Apple Watch. The Apple watch, yet to hit Indian Markets is expected to be the most sold product ever beating the records set by its own product, the iPhone. From the Budget Sports range to the Luxurious Gold Apple Watch, this product is turning out to be a perfect companion for your other apple products. Likely to hit the Indian Markets in the first week of October’15, Apple Watch is one Product you would surely like to spend money on.

Tune in to apple.com tonight at 10.30 pm to catch all the live action happening at the APPLE LAUNCH EVENT from your iphones, ipads, or macbooks .

P.S- Apple users ask SIRI to give you a hint 😉

Image Credits- prozpablogz.wordpress.com

Animesh Agarwal
[email protected]

“Now you can shop at the world’s No.1 music store. Which means you can browse and buy songs, albums and films anytime you want.” This is the proclamation that the Apple website makes to inform us all that the iTunes store is now accessible in India. Thereafter the site just brags a little, typical Apple eh? The good, rather great news is that now we all can shop for music, movies etc. right from our desktops. But then again, this news is sweet symphony only to those of us who aren’t acquainted with torrent or steer clear of downloading illegal content, I’m trying very hard not to crack wise on this part of the audience.

Nevertheless this is monumental news, as there were a good amount of rumours that Apple was running for exit from India a few years back. We must also bear in mind that it took the company decades to bring the iTunes Store to India even though the company had made its appearance long back. In a conference call with investors and analysts on July 24, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he loved India but there was little business opportunity in the country to sell the company’s products. India had influenced Steve Jobs in many ways and still India stayed hungry and foolish for the iTunes store for a very long time.

Enough of the gripes and grumbles look at the bright side; we can download Dabangg 2, Talaash and other sound tracks side by side with Taylor Swift and Bob Marley songs! Angry Birds, AC/DC and A R Rahman all on the same portal, guys it is the Pandora’s Box of entertainment!

So Yellow Submarine, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Rolling in the Deep and Fevicol Se all under the same roof, is this a sign of the impending apocalypse?

Anugrah Gopinath

[email protected]

In a shocking turn of events that has left the people as well as the multitude of Gods that they pray to baffled, Apple Inc., in a move to save face, has decided to give away free iPhone 5s to all Samsung employees. Apple employees had protested against the management for having put them through the embarrassment of walking down the street with people pointing and laughing at them after multiple trolls surfaced on the internet following the patent drama.

“It was getting difficult for us to be out in the open. We were the town’s newest laughing stock”, says Steve (name changed), an Apple employee. In order to allay employee-anxiety, the management decided on this drastic measure in the hope that it’ll keep the trolls at bay.

However, there is inside information that Apple is, in fact, giving away iPhone 4 and not 5. “They’re hoping no one would notice given that it has worked so far”, said the source.